Love is a TwoMan Game
by bflatgirl
Summary: LAST CHAPTER UP! HPDM. When forced to go into hiding, Harry is torn between a new type of good and evil: love and hate. Which one will win after his struggle of loving two people? SLASH HERE! Please note, it starts as HPGW, but that does change I promise!
1. Disagreeing

**A/N** Hiya!! What a surprise that I'm back less than a few weeks after finishing my previous fic to write another one hehe!! However, as you may have guessed from the summary (those of you who know my stuff), this story is QUITE different from my others. Yes, I am going to attempt… SLASH! Argh! I have given in to the slash temptation; I love it so much. And I have 'gorgeousbowneyes' to thank for that! (Thank you dear!) So… All I'm asking is please be nice to me; it is, after all, my first try at a slash so it mightn't be very good at all. If you review, don't be afraid to give me all the constructive criticism you want! I'd love a lot of that to really help me write it! Anyways, I'll stop babbling and start to write. I hope you like it…

Also, (sorry, I keep going on don't I?!) this is set forgetting about Deathly Hallows. However, Harry has already finished school. So he did seventh year, but not the way that we as readers now know it. Get me? I know there's a special word or phrase to describe that, but I can't think of it right now…

**Warning! **This fic has got HET in it as well. Between Harry/Ginny, so just to let all of you het haters know that…

Disagreeing

He strode from the room and slammed the door so violently behind him that he swore the walls had shaken, before Lupin opened it again so quickly that he hadn't even gotten halfway up the stairs.

"Harry, calm down. _Please!_" Remus Lupin said calmly from the bottom of the staircase.

Harry Potter turned around to stare at him, red faced, without saying a word, but giving him a look that meant he would never give in to this ridiculous idea that had concocted in Lupin's mind.

"Harry," Lupin said, slowly walking up the stairs to meet him, "I'm only thinking of your safety. I thought you'd grown up so much in this past year. I thought you knew how dangerous everything was."

"I do know, Remus," Harry answered stiffly, "But I've told you, I have other things to do than to be locked in a house with… with _him_!"

"I know you aren't the best of friends, but that is the only safe place for you. And the fact that you aren't friends makes it even more safe! You-know-who would never suspect you to be there," Lupin explained, much to Harry's distaste.

"It doesn't make a difference anyway, because I've got other things to be doing!" Harry repeated angrily.

"Like wooing your far too young fiancé?" Lupin suddenly snapped, forcing Harry to jolt back a bit.

"She's not too young!" Harry snapped back after recovering, "And that's not the only thing I'll be doing! She'll be in Hogwarts anyway!"

"If it stays open," Lupin mumbled.

"What?"

Lupin looked up at him then, right into his eyes, and Harry knew he was seeing James rather than his best friends son. Finally, Lupin shook his head.

"Harry, I know you're of age, and you can take care of yourself. But nonetheless, you have no choice in this particular matter. You're going to stay there for as long as it takes for the other able Order members and I to track down those Horcruxes, and then…"

"You don't even know what you're looking for!" Harry cut him off by shouting.

"Well do you?" Lupin retorted quickly.

Harry stared for a moment, then looked away; shamefully giving Lupin his answer.

"Right," Lupin took a deep breath, "Then that's finally decided. You're moving to Malfoy Manor in one week. And you'll stay there until I say so, understand?"

Harry looked up at his old Professor with a scowl that could kill on his face, but nodded.

"Good. Dinner is at seven. The Weasley's are coming," Lupin said shortly before walking back down the stairs and entering the room from whence he came.

Harry scowled at the door for a moment longer, and then proceeded up the stairs to pack his things to leave Grimmauld place in a week.

* * *

**A/N** Little prologue for you there. Hope it intrigues you! Please review, and like I said, constructive criticism is most welcome!! 


	2. Sneaking Off

**A/N** Thanks to my first reviewer!!:

**Njferrell: **Yes, Harry is of age now, so he could do what he likes, and Lupin did say that. But he then says Harry has no choice in the matter. And, in the end, Harry gives in because he hates fighting. And you never know what he has up his sleeve…

Sneaking Off

Harry Potter stood in his almost empty room in number 12 Grimmauld Place. He sighed as he looked around and held himself back from unpacking for the seventh time since the day of his argument with Lupin. Well, his first argument with him at any rate.

Since that fateful day that Lupin had told Harry he was to be moving to Malfoy Manor (for his 'safety'), Harry had come up with several other arguments to get out of going. One of the most frequent being that Malfoy was a traitor. He _was_ a Death Eater. And even if Lupin said that he trusted Malfoy when he claimed that he was no longer a follower of Voldemort, who was to say that Malfoy was telling the truth? Too many years had Dumbledore trusted Severus Snape, and look where that took him… To his complete and total death.

Harry tried not to grimace at the word, or even the thought of Dumbledore's death. It had been over a year, but it still cut Harry very deeply.

Slowly, Harry sat down on his bed and stared out of the window, thinking what troubles the day may bring. The weather looked ok; better than it had in the last couple of days this summer, anyway. The first week of the holidays had been dismal. Harry guessed it was because of all Voldemort's activity, and Dementors swooping around everywhere. Then again, the inside of this house didn't help the atmosphere very much…

"Harry!"

Harry jolted at the sound of his name being called.

"Harry! The Weasley's are here!" Lupin's voice shouted.

Harry immediately jumped up and ran at great speed down the stairs to see his surrogate family. He hardly ever got to see them at the moment. That was another argument for not going to Malfoys' as well. Why could he not just stay with the Weasleys'? Well, Lupin's answer to that was always something about them needing to be together. So why couldn't they be together with Harry as well?

"Harry!" Ginny squealed at him as he ran into her arms at the bottom of the stairs, really not caring that both of her parents and almost all of her brothers were watching. "How are you? Is everything ok?"

"I'm fine," Harry replied as he let her go and waved at everyone else, "But Remus is still going on!"

"Now, Harry, don't start that again. We're going to have a nice meal tonight, not like four days ago!" Lupin snapped at him as he walked out of the room.

"Better not, dear," Mrs Weasley cut in before Harry could say anything, "It's for the best after all."

Suddenly, everyone had seemed to disappear from the hallway and left Harry and Ginny on their own.

"I just don't see why I can't come and stay with you. Or even Hermione's family!" Harry moaned, sitting on the bottom stair.

"Well, that one is understandable, isn't it?" Ginny started, sitting next to him. Even the smell of her hair made him relax all of a sudden. "Hermione has told her parents all about you, but they're muggles, Harry. Do you really think they'd want someone to be staying with them, who could be attacked at any moment? By a force they don't even understand?"

"You sound like Hermione, you know that?" Harry said sarcastically. Ginny rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to talk, but Harry jumped in. "Well ok, I get that, but why can't I just come and stay with you?"

Ginny's gaze fell to the floor. Harry knew that she was feeling guilty.

"I'm sorry, Harry," She started quietly, "But after what happened with Bill, were all scared. We want to stick together. Not even Fleur is staying with us at the moment; she's with her family as well. Lupin is going to stay with Tonks and her parents. All the Order members are with their families."

Harry stood up violently and breathed deeply to control his rising anger.

"So what you're saying is, I'm just a burden to everyone."

"No!" Ginny was at his side in a second. "I'm not saying that at all! You'd never be a burden to anyone!"

"Just a boy with no family…"

"Harry…"

"I've always thought of you as my family! And now you won't even give me somewhere to stay, just because there's the tiniest chance I might be attacked at your house!" Harry snapped.

"The chance is bigger than 'slight', and you know it!" Ginny retorted sadly. "And anyway, I'm not sure that that's the only reason."

"Well what else could it be?" Harry asked sarcastically.

"The fact that you and I are together…" She answered embarrassedly.

Harry's frown flipped into a cheeky smile as he realised what Ginny meant by 'together'.

"Mum doesn't want us to be able to sneak away into a room, I think," She continued.

"Like now?" Harry said slyly.

"Excuse me?"

"Like, sneak away now…" He repeated.

Ginny paused for a moment to stare at him. Then she suppressed a laugh and his him playfully on the arm, "Harry!"

"What?" He asked innocently. "Oh please, Gin! It's been so long!"

"It's been a week and a half!" She laughed again.

"Gin, come on, they haven't even noticed we're not there…" Harry pleaded.

Ginny eyed him scrutinizingly for one more moment, then took his hand and ran up the stairs towards his room.

* * *

Three days later, Harry stood up from his bed and pulled on his boxer shorts, which were thrown so effortlessly across the room only an hour before.

"Oh, Harry," Ginny said sleepily from the bed, "I was just falling asleep…"

"Well you can't," He laughed, kneeling down on the floor next to the bed. "I said you were helping be pack, your mum'll be up here in a minute. I bet you."

Harry kissed her on the cheek and walked back to the other side of the room, where his jeans were, and pulled them on as well.

By this time, Ginny was sitting up in bed, a thin sheet wrapped around her body.

"I hate watching you get dressed," She said sadly.

"Well, it must be better than not seeing me at all," Harry said, doing up the final button on his shirt.

"Don't say that…"

Harry turned round to look at his girlfriend. That beautiful figure, with her head slumped and one tear falling down her cheek.

"Hey, Gin," He said, walking over to her, "It's not forever."

Ginny nodded slightly and cried some more.

"I just can't believe who you're staying with…" She coughed.

"Oh, God, don't remind me…"

Harry had done well for the past three days not to argue again with Lupin about his choice of 'accommodation' for Harry, as he now called it. And since today was the day he was meant to leave Grimmauld Place, he didn't much want to think about what he might be doing tonight.

The next thing Harry knew, Ginny was dressed and standing next to him, brushing her hair, so that it didn't look like she had just had wild sex in the room upstairs, much like Harry's always looked.

"I'm going to miss you…" Ginny said after a few minutes of silence.

"I know… I'll miss you too," Harry replied, taking her by the waist and kissing her for a long period of time.

"Harry! Ginny!"

"Oh no…" Ginny whispered at the sound of her mother's voice, "You have to go…"

Harry just carried on kissing her neck. He never wanted to leave. He wanted to stay in this room, at this moment, for ever more.

"Harry…" Ginny whispered breathlessly.

"Just one more minute…" He whispered back, moving her head by the chin with one finger, so that she was kissing him again.

"Ginny! Harry!" Mrs Weasley called again.

"Harry," Ginny pulled away and stared at him sadly. "It's time for you to leave…"

Harry stared at her incomprehensively, breathing quickly, tears streaming down his face.

"You have to go now…"

* * *

"I'll write to you mate, ok?" Ron said to him in the hall not ten minutes later. Harry nodded his head, not really looking at anyone, or anything. "I'll get Hermione to write loads as well. Yeah?" Ron paused, but Harry still said nothing. "If I see her, I'll give her a hug from you?"

Harry nodded slowly again, still watching the carpet intently.

"Well, Harry, time for us to be going then!" Lupin said loudly, obviously getting nervous from so much thick silence.

"I'll see you soon, Harry," Ginny said, taking his hand.

Harry squeezed it suddenly and his eyes darted up to meet hers.

"I love you," He mouthed as everyone around his started to shout their 'goodbye's.

Ginny's mouth widened into a bright smile, and she kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Bye, Harry…"

She pulled his hand off hers, and suddenly there was something tight holding onto his left arm. Harry realised it was Lupin, getting ready for the side along apparation. But before he could turn his head towards Ginny and Ron again, Harry was being pulled through the air tight tube, having to cling onto his trunk and Hedwig's cage so tightly that he was yanked back, and the apparation was all the more slow.

Then suddenly, clean, but freezing, air swept through his lungs as he landed, staring at a dark mansion surrounded by white flowers.

* * *

"Now, Harry, you will behave yourself won't you?" Lupin said after ringing the doorbell.

"What do you expect me to do? Curse him?" Harry said sarcastically. Thinking as an after-thought that that may not be such a bad idea.

"Yes actually," Lupin replied, hearing scurrying behind the door, "Just be civil; that's all I ask."

"Then you ask too much," Harry said quickly before the front door swung open slowly to reveal a surprisingly bright front hall. Not to mention large.

It took Harry a few seconds to realise who Lupin was talking to. He looked down, and saw a house elf. _Oh, how pathetic,_ Harry thought.

"Yes, come in," The house elf bowed down so low that its crooked nose actually touched the floor. Harry made a mental note never to tell Hermione about this. "Master Malfoy will be down in one moment."

Harry rolled his eyes as he walked through the door, 'Master Malfoy', more like 'Master Death Eater'!

"Well Harry," Lupin said quietly to him, "It doesn't look half bad here, does it? Better than Grimmauld Place at any rate!"

Lupin turned, smiling at the joke that obviously thought funny, to Harry, but his face dropped when he saw Harry's.

"Any place that Sirius lived is ten times better than here!" Harry whispered angrily.

"Harry…"

"Don't worry about it, Professor."

Both Harry and Lupin jumped and turned to see Malfoy standing on the staircase. Harry was surprised to see how well he looked, considering that he had been cooped up 'hiding' form Voldemort for a year. Harry thought this ridiculous: why on earth would Malfoy hide from Voldemort at his own house? That was the major flaw in his plan to pretend he was innocent.

"I expected nothing less from him," Malfoy finished as he walked down the rest of the (very grand) staircase.

"Yes, well he won't speak like that again, Draco, I assure you," Lupin said, addressing Malfoy courteously.

"Won't I?" Harry snapped loudly, "You always forget that I can do what I want! You always forget that I'm and adult now, Remus!"

"Oh Harry be quiet!"

Harry was taken aback by Lupin's tone of voice, so that completely shut him up.

"Anyway, it's time for me to leave," Lupin started, "I need to get to Tonks' house as soon as possible. Thank you for doing this, Draco, I'll see you soon Harry."

And with that, Lupin was gone.

There followed an awkward silence in the hall.

"Why are you letting me stay here?" Harry fired at Malfoy suddenly.

"Why did you want to come?" Malfoy fired back.

"What?" Harry asked incredulously, "_Want_ to come? I was _forced_!"

"You're of age, you could have done what you wanted! Why are you here?" Malfoy asked again.

"I told you, I was forced!" Harry shouted.

"Get over yourself, Potter! Now, do you want me to show you your room, or not?" Malfoy asked.

"What?" Harry said distractedly.

"Do you want me to show you your room, or do you want to sleep here, in the hall?" Malfoy said sarcastically.

Harry felt like he had been confunded, but then shook his head and said, "What do you think?"

Malfoy turned on the spot and walked towards the stairs, signalling to the house elf that it should carry Harry's things. Harry followed, staring round at the magnificent mansion he had been sent to. He had no idea what it would be like to live here, but he was sure it would feel like a long, hard time.

* * *

**A/N** There you go! Hope you like the chapter. I'd tried to show how in love Harry and Ginny are. And what an animal Harry is… ahem… Anyways, hope you read the next one when it's up! 


	3. Malfoy Manor

**A/N** I seem to be writing this really fast… I wanted my friend to be a beta reader but I haven't spoken to her since before I started this story… So I hope its going ok!! Thanks to my new reviewer:

**Luxa: **Thanks, I hope it's as interesting as you expected hehe!

Malfoy Manor

Harry sat down for dinner two days later, facing Malfoy. He had hardly spoken since he moved in, neither of them had. Harry had stayed in his room for two straight days, writing letters to Ginny, Ron and Hermione. He guessed that he probably should have been sending Hedwig out so much, as someone might recognise her, but he had to talk to someone, didn't he?

The only words Malfoy had spoken to him since the night Harry arrived were 'The house elf is called Hetty, if you need anything, just say her name'. And with that he had left the room. The room which was massive, compared to Harry's room at Grimmauld Place. Not to mention cleaner and just… better. A king sized four-poster bed sat in the middle of the back wall, almost at a right angle to the bedroom door, a very large dresser table was opposite that, next to a walk in closet/dressing room. And to top the whole thing off, there was an En Suite bathroom close to the bed. Somehow the whole situation seemed to make Harry feel very grown up, he felt his age for once, he felt like an adult.

Harry looked across to Malfoy, who was eating his dinner in a very well mannered fashion. Harry smiled as he thought of the disgusted and confused face that Ron would have, were he here, when he saw such good table manners.

Malfoy saw the small smile on Harry's face.

"What?" He said grouchily.

Harry expression dropped. "None of your business."

"Potter, this is my house, if I ask you a question, you should intend to answer it politely," Malfoy said, putting down his knife and fork.

Harry swallowed his last bite of dinner. "Piss off, Malfoy, I don't have to be polite to you after what you did."

Harry stood up to leave, but Malfoy was standing in front of him a lot quicker than he had anticipated.

"What do you mean, 'what I did'?" Malfoy asked tensely.

"Oh you know," Harry said, stepping to the side, "Just killing our Headmaster."

"I didn't kill him!" Malfoy shouted suddenly.

Harry raised an eyebrow, "What would you call it then? Only being responsible for his death?"

"I didn't mean anything like that to happen!" Malfoy shouted again.

"Calm down, Malfoy… Don't want you to get angry at me, or I might be dead in less than five minutes."

Malfoy's arm flew up, his hand screwed together, ready to punch. It flew towards Harry's face, but Harry was too quick for him (being a seeker). Harry's right hand jumped up and caught Malfoy's in it. He used more muscle then than he had in a year.

With some effort, Harry threw Malfoy's whole arm backwards so that it hit the vase of flowers on the table, knocking them over with a great smash.

Malfoy stared at the shards of glass on the table for a moment, breathing heavily, and then turned back to Harry, who was smirking. It felt so good to be the one smirking, rather than Malfoy having embarrassed him.

"I did not kill Albus Dumbledore," Malfoy said stiffly. This surprised Harry a bit. If he were a Death Eater, he would gloat about being responsible for the greatest wizard's death. "Understand?"

"What's to understand?" Harry said, more gently than he intended, "You led those Death Eater's right into Hogwarts. You stood and waited for Snape to turn up. You even told Dumbledore that you intended to kill him."

Malfoy looked away. Harry was completely confused; the Malfoy he used to know would have been duelling by now.

"What does it matter anyway?" Malfoy sapped suddenly, "It was a year ago now. I don't care what people like you think, Potter, it's what I know that counts."

And he walked away. And Harry had the strangest sensation run over him. Pity. He shook it off and sat back down. But then, as he watched the water from the broken vase drip from the table to the wooden floor, he realised something else that surprised him beyond reason. He wanted Malfoy to come back. Just for conversation. He wanted to talk to someone, but there was no one there other than Malfoy. That part of the day had been the most exciting thing since Harry had arrived. So he needed conversation. Well, he'd get it. Even if it was just arguments.

* * *

_Ginny,_

_I can't stand being here any more. It was, four days ago I think, that I decided I wanted to talk to someone. I was absolutely determined that I'd get Malfoy to talk. Even if we were just arguing. But the only time I see him is at meal times, and he won't say a word to me. No matter how hard I try to insult him._

_Ginny, please find some way of coming over here. I need to see you. I miss you so much and I want you. Also, I'm afraid my voice box doesn't work anymore, because at meal times yesterday I tried to speak but nothing came out. _

_Please, Gin, come here. If only for an hour! Bring Ron and Hermione with you. Then again, maybe don't… Better still, you tell them a time to come here, and you actually come an hour early or something. Oh please Ginny, I'm begging you. Just get someone to visit me. It's like being in prison; I can't go outside and I can't talk to anyone. Please Ginny, come over before you go back to Hogwarts. I need you._

_All my love, _

_Harry_

Harry attached the letter to Hedwig's leg and watched her fly away.

The sun was rising quickly in the sky and Harry had already been up for hours. He was so bored.

As he sat at the open window, staring out, he wondered what the Order were getting up to now. Probably on a mission to find someone.

Harry sighed.

Finally, after another ten minutes of innate staring and thinking, he stood up, having decided to go for a walk. Obviously not a walk outside; he wasn't allowed to do that…

Five minutes later, Harry was thinking to himself how he hadn't realised how big this manor was. There were corridors leading off corridors, just like Hogwarts, and Harry had no idea where any of them led to. He was just walking past a certain corridor that was very dark, when he walked into something.

"Watch where you're walking, Potter!" Malfoy hissed at him, hands in his hair to make sure it was neat.

"If you saw me, why didn't you move?" Harry said sharply.

"_I_ don't have to get out of _your_ way, Potter!" Malfoy hissed again.

"Well I wouldn't have been in your way if you'd actually showed me around the place!"

"Potter, wherever you are, you'll be in my way somehow," He smirked.

Malfoy began to walk past him, but Harry grabbed his arm quickly.

"Wait!" He said desperately.

Malfoy turned around and raised an eyebrow at the sight of Harry's hand on his arm. Harry let go quickly.

"Please," He pleaded, "Give me something to do. Talk to me. Anything!"

Malfoy's eyebrow rose again. "You said please, Potter. It seems you do know manners."

Harry opened his mouth to protest to this comment, but Malfoy continued to talk. "How about I show you around the Manor? Seeing as though you're so interested in the corridors already," He indicated the corridor at which Harry had been looking at when he walked into him.

Harry stared, completely taken back by the change of tone in Malfoy's voice, but nodded, open mouthed, all the same.

"Well, is now a good time, or do you have anything better to do?" Malfoy smirked again. Harry hated it when he did that. He gave Malfoy a look. "Ok then, shall we start from the bottom?"

Malfoy walked off in the opposite direction, obviously heading for the ground floor. Harry followed in quick stead, glad of something to do. And he thought it was a good idea for him to see the rest of the building, because who knew how long he would be living here?

Soon, they reached the main hall, and Harry stopped walking. But Malfoy walked over to a door that Harry hadn't really noticed was there before, in the corner, underneath the stairs.

Malfoy opened the door and flicked a switch to turn a light on in the room. There were stairs leading downwards into a cellar.

"That's the wine cellar," He pointed down the stone steps. "The Malfoy family have been hosting magnificent parties for centuries, so it's quite big down there. But very cold, so I wouldn't get shut in there. The door had a magical lock on it. Only a Malfoy can open it with touch. Not even Wingardium Leviosa will open that for you, Potter."

Harry bit his tongue to stop himself retorting back as Malfoy sniggered and walked away. Harry followed, not reluctantly, but… somewhat stiffly.

Malfoy skipped out most of the rooms on the ground floor, as Harry had been in nearly all of them. The only other room he entered was across the hall from the living room.

As Malfoy opened the door, Harry let a small gasp escape his lips.

This room was enormous, almost like a Banquet room. It had a huge table in the middle of it, with around thirty chairs, Harry guessed, a very grand marble fireplace was at the end of the table, and above that, was a very large picture of someone Harry didn't recognise. But the man had shockingly blonde hair, and a smirkish smile that Harry had seen all too many times before.

"This is the function room," Malfoy said. "That," He indicated the portrait, "Is the very first Malfoy. My great-great-great-great grandfather," He said, counting the 'great's on his fingers as he did so.

"Wow," Harry said, "You Malfoy's don't pride yourselves to much, do you?"

"I used to," Malfoy said, ushering Harry out of the room and shutting the door, "But that is my father's fault."

Then Harry saw it. A flash in Malfoy's eyes that somehow showed something that Harry had never before seen there. And it almost looked like regret. But it was only there for a second before Malfoy turned around and proceeded in walking up the stairs.

Harry tried to shove the image from his mind as he saw all the rooms on the first and second floors of the manor, which were mainly bedrooms, with a few exceptions such as drawing rooms or music rooms. They were all rather the same as Harry's room; large, very comfortable. However, it seemed Harry's was the only one with an en Suite bathroom. He wondered if there was any significance of that.

Finally, an hour later, the two men walked back down the stairs together for a late breakfast. However, Harry stopped on the first floor.

"Hurry up, Potter: sausages won't stay warm forever!" Malfoy moaned as he turned around. But then he saw what Harry was staring at. "What are you doing?"

Harry had stopped opposite the darkened corridor at which he first met Malfoy earlier that day. Malfoy hadn't shown him what was down that one.

"What about this corridor?" Harry asked, walking down it.

"Nothing that's important," Malfoy said quickly, speeding over to where Harry was.

"Well, spare bedrooms aren't important but you showed me them," Harry said, walking further into the corridor.

"It's nothing at all!" Malfoy shouted suddenly.

Harry turned to him and frowned. "What are you hiding?"

"Nothing," Malfoy said too quickly.

Harry continued to walk. He put his hand on the first door handle that he reached, but as he opened it, he never saw what was inside. Malfoy grabbed the back of Harry's t-shirt and flung him round quickly, shoving him against a wall as he did so, fist raised up ready to punch.

But again, Harry was too good for him. Malfoy was so small compared to himself. Harry placed his hands on Malfoy's chest and pushed him back with so much force, this time, that he almost fell over.

Malfoy was breathing heavily again, and when Harry turned back round to look into the room, he shouted, "No!"

But Harry had already seen everything. The curtains on the window were open, letting sunlight drain in and fill the whole room. It was very cluttered, nothing like the rest of the house. And the clutter was all just things that meant nothing to Harry, but they must have had some relevance to Malfoy. This was his parents old bedroom. There wasn't anything in there to tell him, Harry just knew. The covers on the bed were unmade, and by that it meant that no one had touched them since the bed was last slept in. And on the covers was blood.

The door suddenly slammed in Harry's face, and Malfoy stood next to him, looking beside himself with anger, and sadness.

He cast a locking charm on the door, and strode away down the corridor. Harry stood rooted to the spot. He couldn't believe what he had just seen. Malfoy's parents bed, covered in blood…

"M-Malfoy!" Harry stuttered, suddenly running after his foe.

"Leave it Potter!" Malfoy shouted at him when they reached the dining room downstairs.

"But Malfoy, we have to talk about this!" Harry shouted back.

"It's none of your business! You shouldn't have gone in that room anyway, after I specifically told you not to!"

It was only after a minute of intent staring, that Harry realised Malfoy was crying. Draco Malfoy was sobbing his heart out in front of his worst enemy, and no one was here to see it.

"Look," Harry said, in a lower tone than before, "I'm sorry I did that. I just thought… I had to make sure…"

"That there wasn't a pack of death eaters in there?" Malfoy snapped.

Harry looked at his feet. "I'm just – just scared…"

"What have you got to be afraid of?" Harry's jaw dropped open immediately. "Sure, _he_ may be after you, Potter, but that doesn't mean you're in danger. You know how to protect yourself form him. I don't. He's killed both of my parents! My entire family! He just wants to finish me off now…"

Harry stood, shell-shocked at Malfoy's words. He could not believe that he had had the cheek to say that. So, his parents were dead, but at least he had known them! And he was still alive, and not burdened with a prophecy that expected him to kill the Darkest Wizard there ever was! But, his parents were dead…

"Mine are dead too!" Harry yelled suddenly.

Malfoy looked up at him and squinted his eyes. Harry squinted his. Were they really not that different? Both of them were standing there, breathing heavily as if they'd each ran a mile, and Harry realised that he, too, was crying. Why? He had no idea.

"What happened to your mum?" Harry asked gently.

Malfoy sank into a chair. "She had a heart attack after _he_ killed my father. Then two weeks later she started to cough up blood in her room. I found her choking to death on her own blood. By the time Healers from St. Mungo's arrived, she was already… dead…"

Harry's heart beat faster in his chest. At least he couldn't remember the death of his parents. He couldn't remember seeing their skin turn pale, or their eyes rolling to the backs of their heads. Harry had always been thankful of that.

"Malfoy I…"

"Save your pity, Potter," Malfoy interrupted, "I don't want it."

Harry stared at the blonde figure for a moment longer, before a squeak at the door to the room told them they had company. Harry turned and saw Hetty. He had forgotten that the doorbell rang.

"Master Malfoy, there is a Miss Granger at the door," Hetty squeaked.

Harry did a double take on the elf. Hermione? Hermione was here!

He jumped up, not knowing exactly what to do, but walked towards the door nonetheless. However, when he glanced back at Malfoy, he stopped dead. His face was like thunder.

* * *

**A/N** Hello!! Wow, long chapter hehe! Well, not that much longer than my usual ones I guess. Anyway, hope you liked it and it didn't drag. Please feel free to give me any tips on anything! 


	4. Difficult Times

Difficult Times

"How _dare_ you?" Malfoy spat at him.

"What?" Harry asked, confused.

"Invite a Mudblood to my house, Potter, that's what!" Malfoy stood up and raged, storming towards him.

"Don't you dare call her that!" Harry shouted.

"Never before has a Mudblood EVER stepped foot in this house!"

"I didn't invite her anyway! She must have seen Ginny's letter!"

Malfoy's face dropped. "You've been sending letters?"

"Yes; why?" Harry asked.

"You prat, Potter! Do you want them to find you?!" Malfoy almost rammed Harry into the wall again, but obviously thought better of it.

Harry shook his head, and decided it was best to have one argument at a time. "Please, let Hermione in! She'll bring news of outside! Please, Malfoy!"

Malfoy stood and considered. Harry was sure that had this been a muggle cartoon, steam would have been blowing out of Malfoy's ears by now.

"Fine. But only for an hour, no longer!" Malfoy compromised.

Harry smiled widely, an expression which felt strange to his muscles after so long. He then ran out of the room and into the hall.

"Hermione!" He yelled.

"Harry!" She ran up to him and jumped into his open arms. "Oh, Harry, are you ok? Oh I've missed you so much!"

Harry squeezed her tightly and spun her around, seeing Malfoy's death stare from the door on his way.

"I'm ok, what about you?" Harry asked after putting her down.

She heaved a sigh. "Exhausted. We're travelling around the country non-stop looking for the…" She glanced over at Malfoy, "The you-know-what's…"

Suddenly, and very surprisingly, Harry didn't want to look at her. He turned around so fast it was like he was trying to disapparate. "Why are you helping them?"

"Because…" Hermione's voice sounded confused, "Well, because Ron and I are properly part of the Order now, they can't stop us… Ginny's not though…"

"I bloody hope not!" Harry yelled, turning back round.

"Well, she's going back to school in just over a week isn't she, so…" Hermione explained.

"Hogwarts is staying open then?" Harry asked.

"Yes, McGonagall decided that its not any safer at home than it is at Hogwarts now, is it? They're the same. So what's the harm in keeping it open?"

"That was her argument last year," Harry remembered.

"Well, yes…"

There was then an awkward silence in the hall. Harry knew that Hermione had come for a purpose. She responded so quickly to the letter that he had sent to Ginny that morning. Something must have been wrong.

He gazed around the hall for a moment, catching Malfoy's peering eye a few times. He was staring at Harry with so much hatred that it almost scared him.

"Look, Harry, is there anywhere we can sit? I need to tell you some things," Hermione said.

Finally, she had started it. There was no going back now. Harry braced himself for the worst as he led her into the living room, without asking permission from Malfoy.

"Right," Hermione breathed deeply, "We can't find them anywhere. You know what I'm talking about, right? Good. We have no idea what we're looking for, even after what you've told us what Dumbledore said."

Harry shook his head, "To be honest, Hermione, I don't care about that. Where're Ginny and Ron?"

Hermione looked taken aback, but then answered, "At the Burrow. They're fine, don't worry. But, you know Molly, she won't let them out of her sight."

"But she'll let you come here alone?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Well, unlike, you, Ron, Ginny and myself, she thinks Malfoy is innocent, just like everyone else does," Hermione answered, looking at Malfoy from the corner of her eye.

Harry gulped and looked at his feet when he whispered, "Actually… I think he is, you know… Good."

Hermione said nothing, just like Harry knew she would do, and took in what he had told her. "Well," She said finally, "That's a change… Do you mean you're – friends?"

"No!" Harry yelped, realising that Malfoy had left the room, "Far from it! He keeps trying to punch me. And I throw him down every time!"

"It seems some things never change then," Hermione said light-heartedly. Harry smiled weakly.

"Harry…" Hermione said after another short silence, "I – I don't think we're going to be able to do what you asked of us…"

Harry screwed his eyebrows together, "The Horcruxes?" He asked.

"Shh!" Hermione yelped, looking towards the still empty doorway, "Yes, those."

"Well, I knew you wouldn't be able to, and I never asked anything from any of you in the Order," Harry answered, trying to be short with her.

"I didn't come here to have a fight," She stated, "Look, why don't we just have a chat, as friends? Nothing to do with what's going on outside."

"But I want to know!"

Hermione sighed again. "Nothing much has really happened. We've heard that You-know-who is looking for you. And there have been a few more deaths since you left, but most of them muggles. That's all really…" Pause. "Ginny is missing you."

Harry looked up after having his head in his hands. His heart suddenly seemed to break down. Why had she said that? She'd made the entire situation worse.

His voice cracked as he said, "I miss her, too."

"Oh, Harry…"

"I need to see her. Just to – to know in my head that she's ok…" He cried.

Hermione looked worried. "She loves you; she'll come before she goes back to school… Harry, please don't cry…"

But he couldn't help it. Hot tears were streaming down his face quicker than they ever had before. He hated it here. Why was he here? Why was he not with Ginny? The girl he loved; the _person_ he loved more than anyone else in the world.

In a desperate attempt, it seemed, to cheer him up, Hermione said something very fast that Harry didn't really understand until he sat and thought about the words for a little longer.

"What?" He asked incredulously.

She smiled and repeated, slower this time, "Ron asked me to marry him."

Harry stopped crying, and a huge smile spread across his face. "I knew he was acting weird before I left!"

Hermione laughed, "Has he not _always_ acted weird?"

Harry laughed as well. It felt so amazing to laugh. "I take it you said yes?"

"No actually!" Hermione laughed sarcastically. "Do you really think I want to marry into that crazy family, like you?"

They sat together for a while longer, just laughing and generally making fun of Ron. Harry didn't remember the last time he had had so much fun with Hermione. Probably before Voldemort had come back into power…

There was a noise at the door when Harry had just started a fresh fit of laughter. It was Malfoy, clearing his throat.

Hermione calmed down immediately.

"I'd better go…" She said, standing up.

Harry stood up as well, "Hey," He said, taking her hand, "Thank you. I haven't smiled so much since before I came here. And also, don't have the wedding without me."

Hermione held his hand back, "We wouldn't dream of it, you know that."

Harry smiled softly again, "And give Ron a manly hug from me…" He smirked, "And I would give you a kiss to give to Ginny, but I don't think Ron would be too happy about that!"

Hermione laughed again, "Don't worry, I'm sure I can do something."

"Potter," Malfoy warned.

Harry's face dropped. "I'll see you soon, Harry," Hermione said, kissing him on the cheek, "Take care."

"You too," He answered as she walked out of the room.

Once Harry had heard the front door close, he rounded on Malfoy. "You had no right to do that!" He shouted.

"Oh Potter, get over it," Malfoy dismissed by waving his hand, "You had no right to invite her here in the first place!"

"I didn't!" Harry yelled again.

Malfoy merely rolled his eyes and left the room. Leaving Harry to stew by himself.

* * *

One week later, circumstances had not changed much. Malfoy was still basically blanking Harry, and Harry was doing the same back. And it was even worse this past week, as Harry had actually listened to what Malfoy said about letters, and had only sent one to Ginny three days ago. He had received no reply.

And now, it was three days until she was due to go back to school, so Harry was bound not to see her again for a matter of months.

It was for this reason that Harry was only picking at his food that evening, since had lost his appetite. Malfoy had obviously picked up on the strange behaviour.

"What's wrong, Potter?" He asked.

"Why do you care?" Harry said sharply.

"Fine! I won't offer help next time you act strangely," Malfoy snapped.

Harry sighed, "I just don't feel like…"

He was cut off by a squeak at the door to the dining room. Hetty stood, rubbing her hands together as usual, waiting to speak.

"Yes?" Malfoy asked.

"There is a Miss Weasley at the door, Master," Hetty squeaked.

Harry almost felt the colour drain from his face as he saw Malfoy turn on him again. "Potter…"

But he didn't care, he jumped from his seat and sprinted to the hallway, where Ginny stood, beautiful, radiant, gorgeous.

Neither of them said a word, but clung onto each other as if their lives depended on them touching in some way. Harry smelt her hair, the most amazing smell in the world, felt her soft clothes, just the way they always were, and pulled her against him so tightly that she may suffocate.

"Oh, Ginny…" Harry finally spoke breathlessly.

Then, he grabbed her shoulders and pushed away at arms length so that he could look at her. She seemed as well as ever, perhaps a little paler than usual, but maybe that was to be expected. He then grabbed her again and hugged her some more.

"Potter." Malfoy's voice made him jump, he had completely forgotten where he was.

Harry turned towards him, and got a shock to see that he wasn't giving him the same death stare that he had when Hermione had visited.

"A word," He said sharply.

"No," Harry answered quickly, shaking his head.

"What?" Malfoy said, raising an eyebrow.

"I said no, Malfoy." Harry was going to argue further, but decided it was best to leave it there, so he grabbed Ginny's hand and pulled her away up the stairs so fast that she almost fell over.

He didn't see Malfoy again for three hours.

* * *

Harry leant over again and kissed Ginny's neck softly, pecking everywhere he could reach. He was sweating, but he didn't care, as Ginny was too. The duvets in this house were definitely not designed to have sex under.

Harry slyly put his hand onto Ginny's breast and started to caress it again, still nibbling on her earlobe. Soon, she stirred and began to giggly quietly.

"Harry…" She whispered, "You woke me up again."

"I'm sorry," He admitted. After all, this was the third time he had woken her since she first fell asleep, "I just can't leave you alone, can I?"

Ginny rolled over to face him properly and opened her eyes, "Apparently not," She giggled.

"You're just like a magnet. I can't help it," Harry apologised.

"Well, I suppose I am very… Harry is that the time?!" She squealed suddenly after seeing the clock on the bedside table, which indicated that it was two and a half hours since she had arrived at the manor. "Mum must be going crazy!"

She jumped out of bed, in her naked state, and ran around looking for clothes. Harry's heart pounded and he leaned out of the bed to grab her arm.

"If she was really worried, wouldn't she have been here ages ago?" He said calmly, pulling her gently back towards him, not taking his eyes off her body.

Ginny looked around distractedly for a moment, then pulled out of Harry's soft grip. "Ron's probably stalling her. I have to go."

Harry sighed and admitted defeat. "Ok, but you can't be angry at me for waking you up again now. Deal?"

Ginny giggled while putting on her underwear, "Deal."

Five minutes later, Ginny was fully dressed, and Harry was pulling on some clothes that had been carelessly dropped on the floor.

"Come on, I'd better go," Ginny said, walking out of the room.

Harry reluctantly followed her down the stairs and into the hall. There was no sign of Malfoy, but Harry hoped that he had calmed down by now.

Soon enough, Ginny had kissed Harry (very passionately) goodbye and left. On his way back to the staircase, Harry saw Malfoy staring at him through the open door to the living room. Rather than staying to have a fight however, Harry ran up the stairs twice as fast as usual to go and lie on his bed in his room, staring up at the nothing that was his life at the moment.

* * *

**A/N** Hmm, I don't know what to make of this chapter… Don't know if it's very good or not. But hey, hope you like it, and hopefully I will be more satisfied with the next chapter. Thanks for reading! 


	5. Secrets

**A/N** Hey, thanks to reviewers:

**Izzy: **Sorry, I did do a warning at the start of the story saying it has HET (a.k.a Harry/Ginny) in it. It is a Harry/Draco though!

Secrets

Harry sat silently on his bay window in his room, staring out at the rising sun. It was beginning to frustrate him now, how he woke up this early every morning. But then again, today wasn't an ordinary day. Today was the day that Ginny, along with so many others, put their lives at risk by leaving their families and making the journey to Hogwarts. He didn't know why, but Harry had a terrible feeling that something would go wrong on the train, and he knew it was to do with Voldemort.

He sat there musing for a couple more hours, until a knock on the door made him jump slightly. However, even though it was polite to knock, Malfoy didn't seem to have the manners to wait for a 'Come in', and strode through the door, apparently not caring what Harry may have been doing.

"Yes?" Harry said sarcastically, turning round.

"I'm going out," Malfoy told him.

"What? Where?" Harry asked, confused.

"Well, if you don't have to tell me who's coming round the house, then I don't have to tell you where I'm going when I leave it," Malfoy smirked.

Harry rolled his eyes. The day after Ginny had visited, Malfoy had certainly made sure that it wouldn't happen again by shouting Harry down. It was the most amazing fight the two of them had ever had, and no physical or magical force was even used.

"Can't I come?" Harry asked, not really wanting to be left alone.

"And completely give away your position to You-know who?!" Malfoy exclaimed, "No, Potter! And anyway, I wouldn't want you tagging along," He added, for good measure.

Harry rolled his eyes once more, "Then tell me where you're going, just so that my mind is at ease…"

Malfoy raised an eyebrow, a trait he often used when about to make fun of Harry. "You worried about me, Potter? How kind! But for your information, I don't need you to look out for me. And I'm going to Hogwarts, if you must know."

"What? Why?" Harry jumped up and asked.

"I received an Owl from Professor McGonagall last night, asking me to go and see her today, before the students get there," Malfoy answered.

"What for?"

"Do you think I have all the answers Potter?"

Harry was about to plead to go with him, but backed down. There was no way on earth he'd be able to get to Hogwarts without someone seeing him.

"Are you apparating?" He asked quietly.

"Yes, and you're not coming," Malfoy answered shortly, "However, I will give McGonagall your best wishes."

Harry had to suppress the urge to say that his best wishes were to get out of his manor.

"Now, if you don't mind, you're making me late," Malfoy said, turning to leave.

"I don't mind that at all."

Malfoy paused for a moment, but then carried on walking, closing the door behind him softly.

Harry sighed; that comment was supposed to be a jibe at Malfoy, but now that he thought about it, he had no idea what he meant by it. Soon, Harry sat back on the bay window, and continued to get lost in his thoughts. He wondered whether a Horcrux had been found yet, but then realised that it was highly doubtful. It was true when Hermione said that the Order didn't know where to look, let alone what to look for. Harry wished he could help in some way, since it was, after all, his task.

The idea sprung to him that he could leave now, and Malfoy would be none the wiser. But he then rendered it unwise, as Lupin would go mad at him, not to mention Hermione's face if she saw him in the open.

So for now, Harry sat back and tried to relax, his thoughts wandering to Ginny at Hogwarts; they wouldn't even be halfway there yet. Slowly, and unbelievably, Harry fell into a deep sleep that took him up to Scotland, and into Ginny's arms.

* * *

"Harry!"

Harry jolted awake and fell off the seated bay window. He gazed around wildly, unable to see clearly as his glasses had fallen off, but managed to tell that it was the evening, as it was quite dark in his room.

"Potter!" The same voice shouted at him. Suddenly, light filled the room and Harry had to squint even more to find his glasses, as his eyes were not used to the brightness.

Less than a minute later, his eyes weren't any better, so he gave up, sitting on the floor, slumped against the seat of the window. Looking towards the door to the bedroom, Harry could just make out a figure standing there, and by the sound of his voice, it was Malfoy.

"Had a nice sleep, did we, Potter?" Yes, that was Malfoy.

Finally, Harry's eyes had become accustomed to the light, so he could once again feel around for his glasses on the floor.

"Are you looking for these?"

Harry hadn't noticed Malfoy now towering above him, holding his glasses, which it seemed he had picked up from the seat.

"Yes," Harry said, standing up and snatching the glasses from him. Finally, he could see properly! "Now, what do you want?"

"I got back and you were nowhere to be seen, I thought you may have run off," Malfoy answered, sitting down where Harry had been sleeping not so long ago.

"You only just got back?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Yes, that's what I said, isn't it?" Malfoy sneered.

"I thought you were only going to see McGonagall!" Harry said.

"I was, but we spoke for a long time. And no, I'm not telling you what we were talking about," Malfoy added, seeing Harry open his mouth to ask.

Harry breathed out again. That was all he seemed to do these days; sigh.

They sat there in silence for a few minutes, Harry wondering why on earth Malfoy was still in his bedroom. And then something suddenly dawned on him.

"You called me Harry…" He stated.

Malfoy looked up at him quickly, and Harry saw a strange expression on his face, one that he couldn't really read. "Don't be stupid, Potter, why would I call you that?"

"I don't know, but that's what I heard, when I woke up!" Harry argued.

"Well, you must have heard that in your dream, because I _certainly_ didn't say that!" Malfoy said, looking away slightly.

Harry cocked his head for a moment, and then asked, "Were you worried about me?"

Malfoy's eyes shot up to face his, "No! I was worried for myself. If you had gone off blabbing about where you were staying…"

"Ok, _Draco,_ I'm sorry!" Harry said, putting particular sarcastic force on the use of Malfoy's first name. "Well, you know I haven't run off, so you can leave now."

Malfoy's eyes narrowed, "You can't tell me what to do under my roof, Potter!"

"No," Harry replied, "But I can ask you politely, so, Malfoy, would you be so kind as to leave my room?"

His enemy's eyes narrowed once more before he stood up to leave. As Malfoy walked towards the door, it seemed he made an extra effort to give Harry an evil look, which, to be honest, was quite funny. Malfoy needn't make the effort to make Harry hate him, for his hate was at its greatest anyway. And he was sure the feeling was mutual. However, as Harry went to bed that night, he couldn't help hearing the voice that he despised so much over and over again in his head… 'Harry!', it shouted. 'Harry', not 'Potter'…

* * *

He shook his head quickly in his bed, and the thoughts that previously occupied his mind were gone. However, two seconds later, he was thinking about a different thing, but the same subject.

It scared even himself whenever it popped into his head. And the incident earlier hadn't made it any easier to stop thinking about. Why couldn't he just leave him alone?! It was driving him positively insane!

But, he couldn't help it… Every time he looked at him, he almost got shivers down his spine. Not at first of course, but spending so much time with him was confusing their whole way of life. He wondered if he'd noticed it… But he can't have done. And anyway, when did they even see each other? Meal times? That was about it. All the other time was spent in separate rooms, and he never even left his bedroom that much. Of course, there was that one time they walked around the manor together; he didn't even know how that had ended up happening. He supposed that was the first time he felt anything that wasn't hate towards his enemy, but why – _why_ was it even happening?

And the feelings were getting stronger every time he saw him since that day around the manor. That laugh for one thing… Oh, that laugh was pure magic of the sort that he, himself, could never produce. That truly did send waves down his spine; the loud, joyous, spectacular sound that could come from such a saddened, lonely person. How did he manage to find happiness in a place like this? And, the touch of his skin… Oh, it was amazing. So soft, gentle, even though that wasn't his intention. He remembered it; he had grabbed his arm and held on as though his life had depended on it. That was, until he turned and looked disgustedly at it. And earlier, that morning, he had almost begged to let him go with him; his heart had beat like a drum. And what were those words he said? When he had told him that he was making him late? 'I don't mind that at all.' He hadn't known if it was supposed to be sarcastic, mean, or meant that he had wanted him to stay. He took it for the latter.

And then, not long ago, when he had spoken his first name, even though it had been sarcastically, that one word made him quake on the spot. Such a word had never escaped his enemy's lips before now. 'Draco…'

Draco was, of course, his name. But Potter had never used that before. And even if he had, it had never made Draco feel the way it had earlier.

He shook his head once more; he was doing it again. Thinking those thoughts about Potter that had kept him awake for a few nights in a row. He had to be careful about things now. Like when he walked into Potter's room earlier in fear that he had been attacked. What a stupid thing to shout! Draco didn't even know where it had come from… 'Harry!' And why was he even worried for Potter's safety? That was Potter's fault again… Telling Granger that he thought he, Draco, _was_ a good person. Yes, Draco had overheard that, and he was overcome with a feeling that he didn't even recognise.

Draco suddenly realised what he was doing again, and tutted at himself. Grumpily, he rolled over in his bed, reminding himself that he needed to be more careful around Potter. Sooner or later he would realise that something wasn't right. Perhaps he had even noticed earlier? Draco hoped not.

Finally, Draco fell asleep. And his final thought of the day was 'I wonder if Potter is awake now, thinking the same as me?'

* * *

**A/N** Hiya! I know it's not very long, but the start of the chapter was difficult to write, and I was going to make these two different chapters, but then I realised they were both really really short, so I put them together. I hope my strategy worked in keeping you guessing whose thoughts they were at the end. I tried to work in some clues, but it was probably obvious from the very first paragraph of that section! Hehe! Anyway, I hope you liked it… Please review! 


	6. And So it Begins

**A/N** Just want to say a quick thanks to my friend gorgeousbowneyes for reviewing me!! Thank you!!

And So It Begins

_Harry,_

_Thank you for your letter, it was so amazing to hear from you! I miss you so much. School is boring, as usual, but hard work!_

_I miss everything about you as well, especially those 'stolen hours' – as you put it – in your bedroom at Malfoy's place. About that, by the way… I agree that it was strange that he called you by your first name… Maybe he was trying to seduce you!! He has secret feelings for you deep down!!_

_Yeah, right!_

_Anyway, best forget him, and just hate him as much as you usual do!_

_Love you, Harry, miss you!_

_All my love, _

_Ginny xxx_

Harry smiled and folded up the letter. It had been a week since he had sent his to her, but he told her not to reply too quickly, as it would look suspicious. It was good that she had done as he suggested of course, but she had waited a little bit too long. Harry had been terrified that something had happened at Hogwarts.

It had been about a week and a half since Ginny started school again, and Harry was slowly getting used to not talking to her. However, he still wasn't used to not touching her…

A knock at his bedroom door kicked Harry out of his pleasant thoughts. It was Hetty, Malfoy's house elf.

"Hi, Hetty!" Harry beamed.

The elf bowed low, "Sir," She squeaked, "There is a visitor at the door. Mr Lupin has come for dinner."

"Lupin?" Harry's mind jogged into action. Lupin was here! "Thanks, Hetty!"

And with that, Harry ran off down the stairs. When he got to the living room door, however, he stopped dead. They were talking about him!

"Well, Professor, he never talks to me!" Malfoy seemed to snap, "It's not my fault is it!"

"Draco, I just assumed that by now the two of you would have patched things up!" Lupin said quietly.

"Well I want to, but he never comes downstairs. And the other week, I went into his room, to talk, and he basically told me to get out again."

Harry rolled his eyes. He did not tell Malfoy to get out of his bedroom, he merely suggested it as he wanted to go to bed! And anyway, since when did Malfoy want to befriend Harry?

"Well it's no good just trying once, is it?" Lupin whispered again. "Perhaps you should suggest to do something together, purely to get to know one another. You are living together, after all."

"And what do you suggest we do?" Malfoy spat, "Go into Diagon Ally and tell everyone that Potter is staying with me?"

"Draco, I never meant…"

Harry had heard enough. It wasn't the most interesting thing to be listening to. So he suddenly walked into the room, pretending he hadn't heard a thing.

"Harry!" Lupin exclaimed at the sight of him. "You're looking well!"

"Remus, you should have told us you were coming!" Harry answered, giving him a small hug.

"Well, I thought that if I did that, you might write back and tell me not to come!" Lupin laughed.

Harry imitated this and laughed as well. He then shot a glance at Malfoy, who seemed to have gone slightly pink for some reason.

"How are you then, Harry? Let me look at you," Lupin said while examining Harry's figure. "Yes, it seems Draco is taking good care of you! You've got your shape back since you came here."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry asked sharply, not appreciating the fact that Lupin seemed to think Harry needed taking care of, by someone like Malfoy of all people!

"Well, during your last year at Hogwarts, you lost lots of weight. Now you look like a strong man again," Lupin explained. "Has he been feeding you lots of meat? I like meat, you know!" He added, as an aside to Malfoy. Harry couldn't help but smile a little at his joke. "There we are! That's the Harry I remember! Smiling again!"

Harry smiled a little wider at his friends' kindness.

"Well, shall we go and eat then?" Malfoy said quickly.

"That would be lovely, thank you Draco!" Lupin answered, following him into the dining room, "I haven't had a proper meal for days!"

The three men sat eating for quite a while, talking about the important things, like the Order. Of course, Lupin was speaking the most, as Harry and Malfoy didn't really have much to say to each other.

"So are Ron and Hermione ok?" Harry asked, halfway through dinner.

"Oh yes," Lupin replied, "They're not doing too much for the Order at the moment. Planning the wedding is more important in their minds, I feel!"

"Do they know when it is yet?" Harry asked, "Have they set a date?"

"Oh yes, it's quite soon actually. The twenty-first of May."

Harry smiled. He couldn't believe it. In less than a year, his two best friends in the entire world were going to be husband and wife.

At least some people in this world could still be happy.

* * *

Four hours later, after a lot of food, a lot of wine, a lot of talking, and more laughter than Harry ever thought possible, Lupin left. The three of them had talked about almost everything they could think of. But when Harry and Malfoy got into a conversation, Harry managed to stop it as quickly as possible. Even though he craved conversation at the moment, he really didn't want it to be with Malfoy, like he had when he first moved here.

However, after three bottles of wine between three people, you can't really stop the laughter and speaking from falling out of your mouth.

"I'll show myself out, thank you," Lupin said steadily as Harry stood up. "You just promise me to take care. I'll see you again soon, Harry."

He hugged Harry and turned to leave, but Harry called out in protest, "Remus! Please don't leave me here!"

He bit his tongue after he said it. He hadn't meant it to sound the way it did. It was the wine talking so harshly.

Harry turned to look at Malfoy, who sat with a disgusted look on his face, and then back to Lupin.

"I just want to come and help with the Order!" Harry rephrased, the way it had meant to sound.

"Harry," Lupin said, walking back towards him, "You know you can't. Here is the safest place for you."

"I don't care about being safe!" Harry shouted, "I want to help! I want to do something! I'm so sick of being stuck up in that room all day!"

"Who says you have to stay in that one room, Harry?" Lupin asked, raising and eyebrow. Harry stared at him, his chest rising and falling quickly. "I have to go. Take care of yourselves, the pair of you. Look after each other."

And suddenly, he had left the room.

Harry stood there for a moment, waiting for the door to open again and Lupin to walk back in and take him away. But no such thing happened. He had left him, again.

Slowly, Harry flopped back down into a chair and buried his face in his hands.

"I don't care if you don't like it here, Potter," Malfoy's voice said, "I don't even like it!"

Harry raised his head, "It's not that I don't like it. I'm just so bored! I told you that ages ago but you didn't seem to listen! And I'm not the type of person that can stay in one place. I used to wander the corridors of Hogwarts most nights last year. I need to be able to do something to clear my head. You have no idea how much stress I'm under. All these thoughts just block up my brain and I go mental!"

"Potter!" Malfoy yelled. Harry had only just realised that that was about the third time Malfoy had said his name. "When did this conversation turn into one about stress? I don't want to hear about your problems. I have ones of my own."

"Like what?" Harry asked incredulously.

"I've told you most of them already, haven't I?" Malfoy said. Harry shook his head. "Well, why do you care?"

"Because listening to someone else's problems take away my own."

This time, Malfoy sighed, "Listen Potter, you don't want to tell me your problems, or hear mine. Now, do you have a broom?"

"What?" Harry asked, taken aback by the change of topic.

"Did you bring your broom with you?" Malfoy repeated.

"Yes… Why?" He asked.

"Because, that's one way of getting rid of stress for me, see if it works for you," Malfoy said.

Harry looked at him for a moment. He couldn't understand why Malfoy was being nice to him, but he guessed that it was, again, the wine talking. Slowly, he got up, and went to his room to get his Firebolt.

When he came back down the stairs, he saw Malfoy in the hall, holding his broom – which Harry noted wasn't as good as his – and waiting by the door to the wine cellar.

Harry said nothing, he assumed that Malfoy was taking him to the garden a quicker way. Harry had been in the garden only once before. It was surprisingly small, for such a grand Manor, but then, the Malfoys did also own three fields next to their house.

Malfoy opened the door to the cellar and lit his wand, walking down the stairs. Harry lit his as well and followed him. They walked down a long, freezing, room, until finally, they reached another door on the other side. Just as Harry was thinking that it would have been better to go the normal way into the garden, Malfoy opened the door and an extraordinary sight met Harry's eyes.

A Quidditch pitch was at the top of the staircase that Harry had just sprinted up. It was outside, and proper size as well. Harry turned to question Malfoy, but he seemed to know what Harry was about to ask.

"I forgot about it when I showed you around the manor, I don't play often," Malfoy explained, adding, "I don't have anyone to play with."

"Well," Harry said slowly, "You've got me to play with now." Harry paused as Malfoy seemed to smirk. He had no idea what that was for. "So, have you got the balls?"

"Yes, they're quite large actually…" Malfoy's mouth snapped shut.

Harry stared at him, wide eyed. That was… Unexpected. Malfoy must have drunk more than Harry saw earlier that night. He put it down to the drinking, and walked away, mounting his broom. Once up in the cool air, he looked back down at Malfoy. He was still standing there, looking horrified at himself. Harry decided that a light-hearted jibe would put him into action.

"What's the matter, Malfoy?" Harry called, "Scared of losing?"

Just as Harry thought, Malfoy's eyes shot up to look at him, and an evil smirk crossed his pink lips.

And then, before Harry knew what was happening, Malfoy was up in the air, circling around him. They did not have a quaffle, or snitch, so Harry decided it would merely be a racing game. He shot off in the opposite direction of Malfoy, calling after him, "Come on, Malfoy! I bet you can't beat me to the hoops!"

He looked behind him and saw Malfoy struggling to catch up. When he finally did, Harry sped up and reached the hoops about five seconds before Malfoy. He hovered there, waiting for his enemy to catch up, feeling rather pleased with himself.

"Feeling sluggish, Malfoy?" Harry said sarcastically when Malfoy reached him.

"No, just out of practice, and you've got a better broom," Malfoy snapped.

Harry smiled, Malfoy had always hated to loose, especially against him. "Ok, I'll go slower this time, come on!" Harry sped upwards, not really caring where he went. He just wanted to go higher, up into the sky, to feel the chill of the night air on his face and in his hair. It was always the best feeling to get that high, and loose all your troubles in one flight…

Suddenly, he heard Malfoy shouting down below, but ignored him.

"Potter, no!" He called, "Harry! Stop!"

But Harry carried on. Even the use of his first name wouldn't stop him now. He wanted to fly. Higher and higher. Leave the world behind. Think about nothing but…

Harry stopped. He gazed around in shock. There were lights below him, and rows and rows of houses for miles around stood still on the ground that was so far beneath him. They hadn't been there before. Now that he thought about it, all that Harry had seen when on the Quidditch pitch was a blank canvas of night sky surrounding him.

He turned and looked from where he had just flew, there was nothing there. The hoops of the pitch were gone, and Malfoy had disappeared. The building that was Malfoy Manor had vanished, and all that he could see was a field.

Harry's heart beat like a drum. He had no idea what was going on… Suddenly, he felt scared… terrified.

"Potter!" Malfoy's voice made him jump from fright and almost fell off his broom. Malfoy had appeared next to him. He grabbed Harry's wrist so tightly that it almost hurt, and pulled him down so hard that Harry lost balance, this time, completely coming off his broom.

He saw it fall beneath him. Heard Malfoy's cry of fright. Felt Malfoy's hand loosing grip on his wrist. Harry's hand slipped into Malfoy's. He was holding his so tightly. Then Harry realised they were plummeting down, but they still had such a long way to go before the ground. Malfoy's fingernails cut into Harry's fingers – scraping along them painfully. Until finally, Harry dropped.

His stomach left him as he hurtled towards the ground, leaving Malfoy racing after him. Then, everything was blank.

* * *

**A/N** Ooo!! Hope you like it!! I do love cliffy's!! I'm going to carry on writing now! 


	7. Tingle

**A/N** Thanks to reviewers:

**Munku-JGSPTV: **Thanks so much for reviewing!! I've wished for a review like that for ages now! Thank you so much for pointing out the mistake in chapter 3, I'm so silly!! Have NO IDEA why I wrote Wingardium Leviosa! And also, I wrote that in the summary because I got a review from a previous chapter saying 'Is this even HP/DM' so I had to let people know. But thanks, I've changed it now. Tell me if you think I should change it again, I've always been rubbish with summaries! But yeah, thanks so much for all the advice! I hope you keep reviewing! smiles

Tingle

"No! I want him under constant supervision! You're not to leave this room until he wakes up! Do you understand?"

"Mr Malfoy, he'll be fine. I have other work to be doing. Other lives to save. I'm sorry, Mr Malfoy. He just needs to rest now. He'll wake up when he feels ready. Just make sure he doesn't move his head too much. I'll show myself out. Goodbye Mr Malfoy."

He watched the Healer leave the room. He didn't even know the woman's name. But what did he care?

Draco paced the length of Potter's room. He had almost killed the Chosen One. His selfishness, for his own safety, had almost lost the world their only hope. But no, he dragged Harry down for his safety, didn't he? Everything was such a blur. He couldn't even remember properly.

Quickly, Draco went and sat on the closest chair he could see. But then his eyes lingered towards the pale figure in the bed. He had never seen Potter looking so bad. And, fuck it all, it was _his_ fault! Draco's fault. Everything was his fault! All he had tried to do was make friends – well, sort of – with Potter, and look where that landed him!

He was still drunk; he could feel his head swirling. What a stupid idea, to fly after drinking so much! He was a stupid, stupid man!

Draco's eyes flittered back to look at Potter. How was it that he still looked beautiful? Draco shook his head. Not beautiful! But he was, Draco had to admit it. He was falling, or even had fallen, for Harry Potter. Was it possible? Was it sane? Was it right?

Draco let out and angry growl, cursing himself afterwards. But then, he heard a sound from the other end of the room. It was Godlike… Potter had murmured.

Draco rushed to Potter's bedside and grabbed his hand without even realising it. Potter moaned again, and his eyes slowly fluttered open.

Upon seeing the room he was in, Potter jumped a bit, but then with the pain of his head he laid still.

"Malfoy," He croaked when he saw him.

Draco shivered, those fabulous green eyes stared into his. It was the most capturing thing he had ever seen. And his hand was still locked onto Harry's.

"Harry…" Draco whispered, finding it strange to actually speak the name.

Harry stared at him, as if confunded, and then suddenly, everything must have fallen into place in his head.

"What are you doing?" Harry said, louder than he had previously spoken. He looked down at his hand which Draco was gripping tightly. "Get off!" He pulled his hand away quickly.

"Harry, please, I'm sorry…" Draco tried.

"Leave me alone!" Harry yelled.

"Please, if you just let me explain…"

"Get out!" Harry shouted. "And stop touching me!"

Draco only just realised that his hand had tried to hold Harry's again. He let go immediately.

"But I need to explain why…" He was cut off.

"Why you tried to kill me?" Harry spat.

"No! It wasn't like that! I was trying to save you!" Draco tried again.

"Fuck off, Malfoy! Leave me alone!" Harry snapped.

Draco gasped as he realised that the words cut deeper than expected. But he did as he was told, and stood up to leave. "I'll see you in the morning…" He said quietly.

"Don't count on it," Harry spat.

Draco stopped and breathed in quickly, but then decided it was best to let Harry – Potter – cool off. He'd still be there in the morning… If he wasn't, Draco didn't know what he would do.

* * *

Harry watched Malfoy leave the room with his head hung low. It served him right. Harry had no idea how long he had been unconscious, no idea what the time was, no idea how hard he had hit the ground when he fell, all he knew was his head was bloody killing him.

He sighed as he door clicked shut and tried to remember what had happened. He remembered seeing lines of houses for as far as he could see. And he remembered looking down to see nothing of the manor or Quidditch pitch. Then he remembered feeling terrified. And Malfoy's hand clutching onto him for life… Perhaps he had been telling the truth. But what was he 'saving' Harry from? He knew how to fly! If Malfoy had just merely told him to go back, rather than grabbing him and pulling him down, then everything would have been fine.

Harry looked at his arms. He was so pale. If his whole body looked like that, then he probably looked like a ghost! Just like Malfoy had done… Yes, Malfoy's skin was pale usually, but just now, he was almost translucent.

He looked down at his hand. It tingled when the thought of Malfoy squeezing it appeared in Harry's mind. Why on earth had he done that?

Harry shook the thought from his mind as he began to fall back to sleep. He wondered how long it had been since the accident, and who knew? Did Ginny know? He doubted it. Ron, Hermione, Lupin? He'd have to wait until the morning to find out, however, as he quickly drifted into an uncomfortable nights sleep.

* * *

He opened his eyes at the sound of tapping on the window. His eyes squinted before he felt around and found his glasses. Putting them on, he coughed and got out of bed, feeling a slight pain run to his head. But it wasn't that bad.

Harry walked to the window and opened it, letting an owl fly in. Lupin's owl.

He untied the letter from the Owl's leg and let it fly away. Going and sitting back on his bed, Harry opened the letter and read it. Lupin obviously knew about the events of the night before. He must have spoken to Malfoy. He basically told Harry to talk to Malfoy before doing anything rash, like leaving. Lupin had said that it was no one's fault last night, and that they should act as if it never happened. Easy for him to say, Harry thought, remembering that he had probably almost died.

Harry put the letter down, and went to the bathroom to have a shower. When he came out, he could smell hot food downstairs. So he quickly put on some clean clothes and walked out of the room.

As he got to the hall, he saw the time on the Grandfather clock that stood there. Half past twelve. At least he had slept for a reasonable amount of time.

Harry walked into the dining room to see Malfoy waiting for him at the table. He had regained his colour, and Harry looked at himself for the first time properly: he had as well. Of course he was a lot darker than Malfoy, however.

Malfoy was holding a small scroll of parchment, which Harry guessed was a letter from Lupin, telling him that he had written to Harry.

He sat down and Malfoy finally looked at him. He seemed not to know what to say. He opened his mouth a few times, and shut it a few as well, so that he looked like a fish. Harry shook his head and rolled his eyes, starting to eat his lunch.

Finally, Malfoy spoke. He must have found it easier to talk without Harry looking at him. "I _am_ sorry…" He said quietly.

Harry looked up. He knew Malfoy was telling the truth when he remembered how his hand had been completely wrapped up by Malfoy's. It was strange to think that they had touched – in a way that wasn't violent, that is.

Malfoy interrupted his thoughts. "Can I explain everything?" He asked timidly. That was strange as well, Harry had never seen Malfoy being timid, or shy.

"Only if I can ask questions," Harry answered.

"Of course," Malfoy replied.

"Ok," He started, he had a lot to ask. "What happened? I mean, not the accident, but before that. I saw houses, loads and loads of them. And when I looked down, the manor and the pitch and you weren't there. But when I was on the pitch, I couldn't see any houses at all!"

"It's the wards that guard the Manor," Malfoy explained. "The Quidditch pitch, the house, and the garden are invisible to everyone that doesn't know I live here. So yes, that does mean the Dark Lord knows I live here, but those wards aren't just invisibility ones. No one who doesn't live here can apparate in or out of the areas which are warded. Rather like Hogwarts, really. Those wards were put on the Manor and age ago, but the invisibility ones were especially added for your protection."

Harry took in the information slowly, as his head was still hurting, but he understood. "So, is that why you pulled me down so quickly?"

Malfoy nodded, "In case there were any Death Eaters around, watching my house. If anyone had seen you, then both of us would probably be dead by now."

Harry understood. And he was greatly surprised to know that Malfoy had in fact been trying to save Harry's life last night. But perhaps partly thinking of his own life as well.

"So… What happened then, after I hit the ground?" Harry asked.

Malfoy flushed red and looked away, which surprised Harry again. Could he have been ashamed?

"You…" Malfoy started, still not looking at Harry, "You were sprawled on the grass. I think most of your bones were broken. Blood was coming from your mouth and ear, and I… I was shaking you. You started to talk, but nothing coherent at all. Just random words that made no sense…"

"What words?" Harry asked sharply. He may have said something about Voldemort, and the Order, which was strictly secret.

"Well, you said Ron and Hermione about three times, you said Ginny quite a few times… And I think you made up a word, Horcruses? Or something like that anyway. I don't know what it's supposed to mean," Malfoy said. "But then you started to cough up more blood, and I had to run to the fire to send for Healers."

Malfoy looked away and seemed to blush again. Harry had never seen him do that before; it was almost, sweet…

"I'm sorry I said you tried to kill me," Harry said quietly.

Malfoy smiled slightly, "It's understandable. You are my mortal enemy, after all!"

Harry raised an eyebrow. First Malfoy held his hand, then he tried to crack a joke? Something was different.

"I suppose you had the chance to let me die then and there, didn't you?" Harry contemplated out loud. "You must be good…"

"Pardon?" Malfoy said quietly.

Harry looked back up at him, "You have left the death eaters… I never believed it before…"

"I never was a death eater!" Malfoy shouted, making Harry jump. "Everything from sixth year was what I was forced to do! I never wanted any of it! Don't you dare make assumptions like that under my roof!"

Harry blinked. Malfoy was back, and Harry couldn't help but smile about it.

"What are you smiling at?" Malfoy snapped.

"You," Harry replied, shaking his head slightly, still smiling.

Malfoy stared at him as he started to laugh. And then, for the first time, Malfoy's face spread slowly into a smile. Not a smirk, not a sneer, but a genuine smile. And something happened to Harry's chest when he saw it. He couldn't really define it, but something had definitely changed between them.

"So," Malfoy said after a few minutes of silent eating, "Am I forgiven?"

Harry narrowed his eyes. "Am I?" He asked.

"Of course. I should have told you about…"

"Don't, Malfoy. You've done enough apologising," Harry cut in.

Malfoy reddened again and continued with his lunch. Harry watched him for a moment, screwing up his eyes. Then suddenly, there was a tingle in his hand again, the same that had been there after Malfoy had held it.

* * *

**A/N** Hope this chapter is ok… Next one will be good. Promise! Thanks for reading! 


	8. Shiver

**A/N **Thanks to my reviewers!

**Zaraki.chan: **Hehe, well thank you for saying thank you hehe!!

**Munku-JGSPTV: **Thanks again for the long review! You somehow manage to make me feel better about my chapters! I really hoped you keep reviewing! I'm glad you liked the last chapter, I tried to make it nice and awkward, as I love those situations hehe! Thanks again!

Shake

Harry woke up two morning's later feeling much better. His head had been hurting for the past few days, but it seemed that today, he was fully recovered – and raring to go. Being stuck indoors for so long now had completely driven him insane, but he didn't want to go and fly again yet, since he didn't know where the wards started, and above all, he just didn't want to fall off again.

Quickly, after a shower and getting dressed, Harry waltzed down the stairs of the Manor and into the living room, where Malfoy was asleep in the comfiest chair there. Harry wondered why he was asleep, as he must have only just woken up for the day anyway, and he couldn't resist the temptation… So he snuck up behind him, and whispered in his ear…

"When you wake up, you will give Harry something fun to do… You will let him go outside, to civilisation…" Harry whispered into Malfoy's ear in a dreamlike voice.

"Oh will I?"

Harry jumped back and fell onto the floor at the sound of Malfoy's voice. Sneaky bugger was awake all along.

"What was that for?" Harry snapped, picking himself up.

Malfoy turned around and looked at him in pity, "You should learn to guard yourself better, Potter. I wasn't asleep, merely resting my eyes."

Harry sighed, "I don't know how you don't go mad with boredom here, Malfoy."

"I've done it for the past year, you get used to having no one to talk to," Malfoy replied.

"But you have me to talk to and do stuff with now!" Harry said.

"You want to do stuff with me?" Malfoy asked incredulously.

"Somehow," Harry replied simply. "So, what shall we do today?"

Malfoy rolled his eyes, "The same as we did yesterday, and the day before, and the weeks before that, Potter."

"No!" Harry snapped. "I think we should go to Diagon Ally!"

"And how do you propose to do that without anyone seeing us together, Potter?" Malfoy sneered.

Harry's face slowly turned into a smirk. Malfoy eyed him suspiciously. "Tricks of the trade, Malfoy…" Harry said quietly. And he pulled his invisibility cloak out from his trouser pocket.

* * *

"This is madness, Potter!" Malfoy whispered as they walked quickly through the busy street of Diagon Ally two hours later.

"Shh!" Harry protested, elbowing Malfoy in the ribs. "People are going to think you're mad, talking to yourself!" Malfoy shook his head slightly. "And don't say the word 'Potter', either!"

Malfoy shut up, and they carried on walking.

They had spent two hours at the Manor, deciding on a plan of action on how to get here and leave quickly. It had also taken Harry quite a while to persuade Malfoy to come in the first place. He was completely against the idea, but then Harry put on puppy dog eyes, and Malfoy seemed to cave in, which Harry thought was odd, but at least he had gotten his way.

Neither of them really needed to go anywhere in Diagon Ally, so they had planned a selection of shops to go and look in, in a particular order. Harry was merely to tug on Malfoy's arm whenever he wanted to leave a shop. First, they were going to Gringotts, the Wizard bank, so that Malfoy could get some money.

Finally, they reached the bank and walked through the large hall towards a Goblin.

"I'd like to get some money out of my fault please," Malfoy told the goblin who stared grumpily at them.

"Name, sir?" The goblin asked.

"Malfoy, Draco Malfoy," He answered.

The goblin took the key off of Malfoy and hopped down from his stool, leading them to a cart to go off to the vault.

During the high-speed journey, Harry found it rather difficult to keep his cloak covering the whole of his body, and ended up crouching completely on the floor of the cart, next to Malfoy's feet. He felt very degraded.

They reached the Malfoy vault quite quickly, however, so Harry had a job to squeeze out of the cart before it zoomed away from them again. He stood and waited while the goblin opened the vault door and Malfoy went inside to get some money. Harry was astounded at what he saw. He knew the Malfoy's were wealthy, but he didn't know they were quite _that_ wealthy. There was more money in there than in Harry's fault, which was quite a bit.

Soon, they were back in the cart and then heading out of Gringotts.

The two men didn't stay long in any of the shops they went in that afternoon, as they had decided it was probably best to keep on the move. The final shop they went in was Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. At the manor, Malfoy had much protested to setting foot in the shop, but again, those eyes of Harry's did him proud.

They walked into the shop that was covered with brightly coloured posters and things that Harry had never seen before. As soon as they walked into the shop, however, there was trouble.

"Oi! You! Malfoy!"

Harry turned to see that the shouting was coming from Fred, or George… He knew what was coming and dreaded it.

The twin walked up to Malfoy and pulled him to the side of the shop. Luckily, there weren't that many people in it.

"What are you doing here?" The twin said warningly, with a 'you know what I'm talking about' look in his eye.

"We're shopping," Malfoy said, wiping his clothes where Fred or George had touched him.

"We're?" The twin said, raising and eyebrow.

"Yes, we are," Malfoy said, giving the look back that the twin had just given him.

"Well, where is…"

Harry punched the twin in his side before he could say his name. How thick could he get?

"Ouch!" The twin yelped, rubbing his side. "Look, why don't you come in here, I have some products which may interest you," The twin said, indicating a curtain that Harry had once before been behind.

"Fred! I'm just going in here!" George told his brother as he walked in behind Malfoy and Harry.

George took them both to the far end of the room, for safety Harry guessed, before talking.

"So, take the cloak off!" He moaned.

Harry pulled the cloak from his head, messing up his hair more than usual, and smiled.

"You could have been more subtle, George," He said exasperatedly.

"Well, it was a surprise," George said, "What are you two doing out anyway? You could both get in big trouble!"

"I missed the open air, ok?" Harry snapped.

George watched him for a moment, Harry took note that he hadn't even looked at Malfoy since the three of them entered the room.

"Well," George said, after softening up a bit, "You'd better be quick; Ron and Her…"

But the curtain flew open.

"You!" Hermione wailed, speeding into the room. "Fred hinted… You could get into so much trouble Ha…"

"Mate!" Ron cut in, before Hermione could get any further. "It's great to see you!"

Harry smiled at Ron, but Hermione was clearly burning to shout at him some more, so he turned to Malfoy – who was trying hard not to laugh – and said, "I think we've overstayed our welcome."

Malfoy nodded, still aching to burst into hysterics, "I agree," He chocked.

"Don't you dare go!" Hermione shouted, but Harry was putting his cloak back on.

"Harry James Potter," Hermione whispered, "If you disapparate now, I'll never forgive you!"

Harry was covered by his cloak, and had already grabbed Malfoy's arm, but he said, "Well then, I'll have to live with it, won't I?"

"Don't you dare!"

But Harry and Draco were getting squeezed through the air tight tube, and before they knew it, landed in the hall of Malfoy Manor.

Harry's knees buckled as his feet hit the ground, so he fell over, his clock slipping off him. Forgetting to let go of Malfoy's arm, he fell over as well.

The two laid there and laughed so hard that their sides hurt. Harry took his glasses off to wipe away the tears of laughter and sat up slowly.

"Did you see her face?!" He laughed loudly.

"She looked ready to kill you!" Malfoy laughed back in response.

"I've never seen anything so fu-funny!" Harry laughed again.

"Harry, you're so amazing!"

Harry stopped laughing but a confused smile wavered on his lips. Malfoy's mouth had clamped shut so quickly after he said it that he seemed to have bitten his lip.

"What?" Harry asked after a moment of staring.

"I – I just meant that…" Malfoy stuttered, and something happened in Harry's head as he did so. "You, just… winding her up… It was – funny…"

Harry's confused smile had now left him, and a worried look was staring into Malfoy's eyes. "Why did you hold my hand after the accident?" He said sharply.

"W-what?" Malfoy asked, stunned.

"And why have you been so nice to me? You blush every time I compliment. What's going on?" Harry demanded.

"Nothing, Potter," Malfoy said, seeming to regain his authority, "What do you think is going on?"

Harry stared for a moment longer. And then he felt it again, a tingle in his hand that Malfoy had once held. Everything crashed down around him. Why was this happening? It couldn't be happening! Malfoy didn't… There was no way… They were enemies. Enemies until the end! But then, Malfoy said there was nothing going on… So maybe Harry was wrong. He had been wrong about Malfoy once before, hadn't he? But he had to find out.

"I can't stay here any more," Harry said bluntly, walking towards the stairs.

"What?" Malfoy screeched behind him. Harry felt his heart sink. "You can't go!"

"And why not?" Harry turned round and yelled.

"Well, because…" Malfoy found it hard to make up a reason, "Because of your safety!"

"And why do you care about that, Malfoy?" Harry shouted.

"It's – It's my job to protect you!" Malfoy argued.

"I don't need protecting and you know it!" He continued to shout. But then, his voice lowered of its own accord and he walked towards Malfoy, who was lower than him on the stairs. "Are you sure there's no other reason that you want me to stay?"

Malfoy stared at him, almost looking scared. Harry had never, ever seen him like this before.

"Why are you acting like this?" Harry asked softly.

Malfoy stared some more, and then caved… "Haven't you felt it too?"

"Felt what?" Harry asked angrily.

"A – A change…" Malfoy stuttered.

"Yes, we're friends now, aren't we?"

Malfoy paused before answering, "Yes… Friends."

"And I like it this way," Harry said stonily.

Malfoy nodded slowly. He must have understood what Harry was trying to say. He couldn't say it properly, it was too sick. For Malfoy to…

He couldn't believe he hadn't picked up on Malfoy's strange behaviour sooner.

"Right," Harry said after a long pause, "I'm going upstairs…"

He turned to go. He got halfway up the steps before Malfoy spoke again. And he didn't like what he heard.

"I have feelings for you," Malfoy blurted out.

Harry stopped dead in his tracks. He felt sick, but his hand… It was itching like mad. Harry knew it was all psychological, but he wished it would just stop!

"What?" He whispered, not turning around.

"I'm sorry, Harry, it's just…"

"Don't call me that," Harry interrupted.

"I'm sorry?" Malfoy said.

Harry turned around, a burning look in his eyes. "I said, don't call me Harry. And get that stupid idea out of your head. I'm not gay, Malfoy, and neither are you. I've got a girlfriend, and you need one. I'm not staying here for a minute longer."

He started to walk back up the stairs again, but he suddenly felt a hand grip his wrist.

"You're not going anywhere, Potter," Malfoy said sharply.

"You can't keep me here!" Harry said, struggling to get out of Malfoy's grip.

"Look, I'll leave you alone, I'll never talk to you; but Lupin asked me to give you a home, and I'm going to carry on doing that," Malfoy said.

The doorbell rang.

"You'd better get that," Harry said stonily, still in Malfoy's grip.

"Hetty will do it."

"Get off me," Harry breathed.

He looked into Malfoy's grey eyes. He was captured by them. Those solemn, lonely eyes pulled him in against his will, not letting him go. And he knew he wasn't going to leave this house, not today, or any other day.

"Harry James Potter!"

Harry broke free of Malfoy and pulled out his wand so fast that he almost fell down the stairs, but it was only Hermione. He hadn't even notice the house elf open the door.

"Oh…" Hermione said, "Sorry, was I, interrupting?"

"No," Harry said quickly, running down the stairs to meet her.

"Well, I heard shouting…" She said tentatively.

"So?" He snapped.

"I thought, something might be wrong…"

Harry stared at her.

"What do you want?" He said nastily.

Hermione looked back at him blankly, and then behind him to Malfoy. Harry didn't know what Malfoy was doing, but he wasn't going to turn around to find out. "Erm, you – you should have gone into Diagon Ally this afternoon, Harry!" She said, regaining her train of thought.

"Oh, shut up Hermione," Harry snapped, turning round to leave her.

"Harry!"

"Leave me alone," He said as he walked back past Malfoy, adding, "Both of you."

"Harry, I don't understand…" Hermione called.

"It's simple, go away!" He shouted.

"Harry!"

"Get out!" He yelled, louder than before. "Both of you! Leave me alone! Go away!"

And with that, he left Malfoy and Hermione in the hall, striding back to his room. He slammed the door so hard behind him that he guessed it could be heard all around the Manor.

* * *

**A/N** Woo! Hope you liked it! Thanks for reading! 


	9. We Need to Talk

**A/N** I know I'm writing this really fast at the moment, but that's because it's a Sunday today so I have loads of free time – when I'm supposed to be working hehe! But anyway, hope you're enjoying it. Any tips would be fab! Thanks to reviewers:

**fufu.a.k.a.speechless: **Sad in a 'oh poor Harry and Draco' way, or sad in a 'this is a stupid story' kinda way?? I hope it's the first one…

**zaraki.chan: **How about plain 'thanks'? Lol! I know, I love Harry and Draco when they are friends. Its sooo sweet!

"We Need to Talk"

Harry had been pacing round his room for about an hour, and now, he flopped on his bed, breathing quickly and heavily. He couldn't believe what had just happened. And where on earth had it come from? Malfoy must have been drunk or something. Harry decided a while ago that he was to talk to Malfoy calmly about all of this in a few hours, once he had cooled off. But right now, he was aching to do something, and flying seemed like the best answer. He didn't care if he fell of anymore; in fact, that would be a nice relief.

He grabbed his broom and went down the stairs quickly. When he reached the door to the wine cellar however, he realised that he would need Malfoy to open it for him. He cursed quietly and walked towards the living room door. Malfoy was, of course, in there, laying back on the sofa with a book. He looked… No! He didn't look anything. He looked normal.

Harry cleared his throat to make his presence known. Malfoy jumped and turned to look at him. His natural glare had reformed on his face, which Harry supposed was a good thing. Maybe they were going to end up acting the way they did when Harry first came here.

"I'd like to go to the Quidditch pitch," Harry muttered.

"Yes?" Malfoy prompted.

"Well, I can't open the cellar door…" He answered.

"Oh…" Malfoy's glare changed again. "Ok."

He got up from the sofa and walked towards Harry, then past him, and towards the door. He opened it with a flick of his wand.

Harry walked through the door and started down the stairs.

"Potter…"

Harry stopped and turned around to look at him.

Malfoy hesitated, "Never mind."

Harry wanted to say something, but couldn't find any words that were suitable, so he carried on down the steps and into the freezing cellar. He then flew for two hours.

* * *

The rest of the night was uncomfortable like that. Harry didn't come down for dinner, and he spent two hours outside. 

Draco sighed to himself as he gazed out of the window. The day couldn't have gone any worse if it had tried. And all because of one ridiculous comment that sprang from his own ridiculous mouth. However, there was silver lining. Harry was still in the manor. He hadn't left, as he said he would. Yes, Draco had no idea what he was doing up in his bedroom right now, but he thought it wasn't packing. He _hoped_ it wasn't packing, at any rate.

All Draco wanted to do right now, was explain everything Harry, but how could he do that if he didn't come down? The first time he had told Harry that he had feelings for him, was the first time he had told himself as well; so it was just as big a shock for him as it was for Harry. But of course, he didn't know that. For all Harry knew, Malfoy could have been feeling like this for seven years. When in actual fact, it was about a month and a half. But did that really make the situation any better? Draco doubted it.

Soon, Draco would go up to bed, and stay awake for half the night thinking of that laugh again, or the feel of his skin, or the feel of Harry's warm breath in his ear. That was a new one, and it made him shiver. He had done well to hide it that morning.

Finally, Draco dragged himself off the sofa, and turned of all the lights in the room, ready to go to bed. Until he got to the last lamp, however, which stayed on.

Harry was there, standing at the doorway in baggy trousers and a baggy top. Draco's heart beat several times quicker. What was Harry's doing?

* * *

"We need to talk, Malfoy," Harry said, walking into the room. 

"Now?" Malfoy asked, turning around. Even in the dim light, he had seen Malfoy's pale cheeks flare up. "I was just going to…"

"Now," Harry stated, sitting down.

He lit all the lamps again using his wand, and waited for Malfoy to sit opposite him. He couldn't sleep, even after a two hour flying session, going round and round and up and down and everything else you could do on a broom.

Slowly, Malfoy sat opposite him.

Harry couldn't be bothered with niceties, so he jumped straight in…

"When you say, 'feelings'…?" He questioned.

Malfoy flushed again. "Erm… I can't really, describe it…"

"Well," Harry tried to help, "Do you mean… Um… Ok, well, what did you 'feel' when I fell of my broom?"

Malfoy shook his head, "It's not like that Harry…"

"Don't call me Harry!" He snapped.

"Why?" Malfoy snapped back, "Ok, listen, it's like that! You remember a while ago, when you called me Draco sarcastically? Well, I just… I thought it was so nice. And that laugh as well…" Harry screwed up his face, "Your laugh. It's the most amazing laugh I've ever heard. And when you touch me, compliment me… It's all amazing…"

Harry stared at him in horror. He still found it impossible to believe that Draco Malfoy was telling him these things. It could have been Ginny speaking exactly the same words.

"Harry, I'm falling in love with you."

Harry sprang up from his seat, Malfoy did the same. And before he could stop it, Harry's fist flew towards Malfoy's face and smacked him on the cheek bone. Malfoy fell backwards into the chair he had just come out of and clutched his face.

"Don't ever, ever say that to me again, Malfoy," Harry said quietly.

Malfoy's attitude came back with his next comment, "I'll say what I like to you, Potter!"

Harry smiled, but then quickly stopped himself, but not before Malfoy had seen. That was the worst mistake Harry could have made.

Malfoy smirked, "You feel it too, I know you do, and you're just denying it because you think you're in love with Weaselette!"

"I am in love with her!" Harry shouted.

Malfoy continued to smirk, "If you say doing her is in love with her then I'll believe you."

Harry stared, completely shocked, "I… What?"

"Potter, her screams could be heard in almost every room of the manor when she came over," Malfoy said matter-of-factly. "You must be really good; in fact, I wouldn't mind having a go."

Harry's fist flew up again, but this time Malfoy moved out of the way.

"Tut, tut, Potter," Malfoy said, "I was only complementing you."

"Shut up!" Harry shouted, "Shut up!"

It surprised Harry when Malfoy did as he was told. He stood there for a few minutes, absolutely fuming – he didn't really know why he hadn't gone up to his room by now. It was like something was holding him there.

"Ok, Potter," Malfoy broke the silence, "Let's say we forget this day ever happened, and we can go back to hating each other?"

"I don't want to hate you," Harry replied quietly.

"Well then, we'll go back to when we got home from Diagon Ally, yes? We were friends then," Malfoy suggested.

Harry eyed him suspiciously, but there wasn't really any other option for him right now. He didn't know what Malfoy was up to, but he nodded his head nonetheless.

Malfoy nodded curtly and exited the room. Harry followed five minutes after, feeling slightly ill. He had worked out why Malfoy suggested what he did. Because he knew that Harry wouldn't be able to just 'forget' any of this, but in saying it, it made Malfoy look like the good guy. He really was a sneaky little git.

Harry sighed as he clambered into bed; it was going to be a long night, and he rather hoped that he never had to wake up…

* * *

"Shush, Ron! For heaven's sake! You'll wake him up!" 

"He should be awake already, it's half eleven!"

"Ronald, there was a time when you didn't wake up until later than this in a day!"

"Don't you two ever stop fighting…?" Harry moaned as he woke up. He rubbed his eyes from the bright light of the room and reached for his glasses.

"Well, I know another two people who never stop fighting," Hermione said with a raised eyebrow.

Harry sat bolt upright. "We're enemies! Completely different from you two!" He argued.

"I wasn't saying anything different, Harry!" Hermione said, looking a bit shocked.

Harry looked away for a moment and then decided on a change of subject. "So, what are you two doing here? It better not be about yesterday!" He had had about enough of yesterday as he could take in his dreams…

"Actually, Ronald and I have quite a bit of news for you," Hermione stated.

"Oh, and what's that? You're not pregnant as well as getting married are you?" Harry asked.

"No!" Ron blurted out. Hermione cast him a nasty look and Harry held back a smile. "Actually, mate, we've found a… you-know-what!"

"What?" Harry gasped.

Hermione nodded quickly. "We've found Hufflepuff's cup!"

"How?" Harry asked.

"We don't actually know, it wasn't Ron and I who found it," Hermione answered, "Kingsley found it. But they've given it to us to look after, until you can come round and figure out how to destroy it."

"Me?" Harry said loudly, jumping form his bed, not caring that he was topless, "You want me to come and do it?"

Hermione smiled sweetly, "I made them promise to let you."

Harry stood, shaking slightly. This was the happiest he had been for days, weeks even! (Excluding when he laughed with Malfoy, of course, but he decided that that didn't count.)

"Also, mate," Ron started, "I wanted to ask you something."

Harry looked towards him expectantly.

"I want you to be my Best Man at our wedding," He asked. Harry's eyes suddenly filled with tears, taking him by surprise. "I know I've got like, a thousand brothers, but I want it to be you. And the guys all understand. They know how much I've been through with you; or basically, how much you've been through with me!"

"Or how much I've put you through…" Harry muttered.

Ron laughed, "So, what do you say?"

Harry shook his head with a smile on his face, "I wouldn't say no if my life depended on it."

The two men stood smiling at each other for a moment, until Hermione finally said, "Oh for goodness sake! It's not wrong for two men to hug each other!"

Ron laughed and almost lunged himself at Harry, obviously wanting a 'manly hug'. But Hermione's words had done something to Harry, and he leapt backwards.

"Harry?" Hermione said, looking concerned, "Is everything ok?"

Harry looked around the room wildly, "Yeah, I just… I… I can't hug Ron without thinking of Ginny…" He lied quickly.

"Eurgh!" Ron exclaimed, "Then I don't want to hug you! Just think if you started to feel me up! How gay!"

"Shut up Ron!" Harry shouted.

"Harry!" Hermione said sternly.

Harry didn't know what had come over him, but he bet he could make a fair guess at what it was…

"Sorry, Ron…" He said quietly.

"It's ok…" Ron replied.

The three of them stood for a moment in complete silence, and Harry became very cold; he wasn't sure it was to do with the fact that he was half naked, either…

There was a knock on the door, and Harry knew exactly who it was. But before he could dive to get a top to put on, the door swung open, and Malfoy stood there, a completely calm expression on his face.

Harry froze on the spot.

"Sorry to intrude…" Malfoy started. Harry noticed that as Malfoy's eyes scanned the people in the room, they lingered longer on his figure and Ron and Hermione's. He shuddered. "I was just wondering if the two of you would like to stay for lunch?" Malfoy asked politely.

Harry prayed to Merlin that they would say yes. Perhaps Malfoy had planned it for the same reason that Harry hoped Ron and Hermione would agree; so that he and Malfoy didn't have to be alone together. Harry knew that Malfoy would never ask them (Hermione especially) otherwise.

The look on Ron's face was quite amusing, it was a cross between disgust and complete confusement; Hermione's, however, spread into a kind smile.

"Thank you Mal… Draco," She corrected herself, "That would be really nice. We're missing Harry a lot lately!"

"Hermione!" Ron exclaimed, but Hermione kicked him in the shin, to which he keeled over.

Malfoy ignored this, "Yes, I thought it would be nice for Harry to have someone to talk to for a while," He said, looking at Harry.

Harry shot a dirty look at him, a look of pure dislike, and nothing else. Hermione looked from Harry, to Malfoy, and a sudden concerned look appeared in her eyes again. Malfoy's face was sombre, but Harry couldn't really define what he was trying to say.

"Mal… Draco," Hermione started, "We'll be down in half an hour. Is that ok?"

Malfoy nodded and left the room quietly. As soon as the door clicked shut she rounded on Harry, who had gone to sit back on his bed, facing the wall.

"Harry…"

"Why, Hermione? Why?" Ron interrupted.

"Oh, Ron! Because we'd like to spend the time with Harry, wouldn't we!" Hermione answered, exasperatedly.

Ron said nothing, but Harry assumed he nodded his head in shame.

"Right, now Harry, tell me what's been going on," Hermione said, sitting next to him.

"Nothing, what do you mean?" Harry answered innocently.

"Liar. Come on, something's not right between you and Malfoy. My guess is that he's trying to befriend you, and you won't let him…" Hermione said.

_Befriend!_ Harry thought, _Is that what they're calling it these days?_

"I just like to be alone. I don't want to talk to him," Harry answered stiffly, with no word of a lie.

"You can't want to be alone all the time," Hermione said.

"I do if it means being with someone is being with him," He said stonily.

"Harry, he can't be that bad, you said to me only a few weeks ago that you think he's good!"

"Yeah, well I changed my mind ok?" He snapped, finally looking at her.

"But why?"

"What does it matter?!" He stood up, "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get dressed. Alone, if it's ok with you!"

Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but evidently thought it was best not to argue further. Harry was glad that she finally got something into her head. Why did she always have to stick her nose into his business anyway? Look at Ron! He was standing there like a lemon, evidently not thinking anything was wrong!

Slowly, the two of them walked out and Harry went to have a shower. He regretted, now, thinking that it would be nice for Ron and Hermione to stay, for he didn't want to eat at all…

* * *

**A/N** Thanks for reading! 


	10. How's Harry?

**A/N** Thanks to reviewers:

**Fufu.a.k.a.speechless: **Oh good, hehe, thanks for reassuring me there!!! I got rather scared!!! Glad you like it though:)

**DesperateMeasures: **Hehe, oh I'm glad you like it!! I love that you gave me a nice long review as well – I don't know why, I just love long reviews! – so thanks for that!! Hope you carry on reviewing!

How's Harry?

Harry's eyes were closed; there was silence in the room, and it was pitch black, but he couldn't sleep. The occasional rumble of his stomach would disturb the mind numbing silence, and wake him up even more. But considering he hadn't eaten properly for three days, that was understandable.

He sighed and tossed and turned in his bed, but it seemed that every position was uncomfortable. He opened his eyes. There was the slightest trickle of light coming through the crack in the curtains. The sun must have been rising, and he hadn't had a wink of sleep that night, or the night before.

Harry rubbed his hand agitatedly, wishing the tingle would go away, but the thought wouldn't leave him. Malfoy would not leave his head to dream about other things.

He let out a loud growl as he realised that he was thinking of Malfoy again. For the third night in a row, he couldn't think of anything else, and it was driving him insane.

The day Ron and Hermione stayed for lunch was the easiest, as they were there to concentrate on. But since they had gone… Harry wished for some form of distraction, but he got nothing. Not a word from the Order, Ginny, Lupin, Ron or Hermione. Did no one care that he was stuck here alone?

Harry's stomach rumbled again, and for the first time in three days, he decided he needed to eat. He climbed out of bed, left his room and snuck down the corridor as silently as he could, as not to wake Malfoy up. He'd hate to bump into him in the middle of the night.

As Harry got to the bottom of the stairs, he realised he hadn't put his glasses on, but the light was on in the kitchen, so he told himself he could just ask Hetty to make him a sandwich or something, but made a mental note not to tell Hermione that he was making a house elf work in the middle of the night.

When he walked into the room, the refrigerator door was open, blocking Harry's view to Hetty behind it. However, when the door closed, Harry got a rather large shock.

Malfoy almost screamed like a girl at the sight of Harry in the doorway, but Harry didn't laugh, he merely turned away to go back to bed.

"No! Wait," Malfoy said, "I'll… I'll go, you get whatever it was you wanted…"

Harry turned back to look at him, and the sudden realisation that he was half naked – again – hit him like a lightening bolt. And then he saw Malfoy's naked torso also.

Harry gulped quietly, and answered, "It's ok, it's your house…"

He walked back into the room, heading towards the fridge, at least to get some milk. He opened the bottle and started to drink from it, not caring that Malfoy may shout at him. However, he did quite the opposite, and some sort of smile appeared on his face, although Harry couldn't tell for certain what the expression was, as everything was a bit blurry.

"What?" Harry asked moodily. "What are you staring at?"

"Your body, Potter," Malfoy said, and by the tone of his voice, Harry could tell he was smirking. "That neck is so delicious… I've never seen it tipped back and strained like that before…"

Malfoy took a step towards him, to which Harry took one back. "Piss off, Malfoy."

Malfoy ignored this comment, "You've got thinner in the past three days. I've missed you by the way."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked tensely.

"You've been in that room ever since Weasley and Granger left, Potter, I haven't seen you since that day," Malfoy answered.

"Yeah… It's been great, hasn't it?" Harry replied, with a wave of his hand.

"It's been unbearable for me not to look at that body since that morning," Malfoy said.

Harry looked at him through the corner of his eye, not that he could really see any clear features. He disregarded the comment.

"And now, you come down here and play with my mind… It's rude, Potter, so rude…"

Harry carried on rummaging around in the fridge for something edible at this time in the night, or morning, whichever it was… That's when he realised how strange this whole situation was.

"What are you doing down…" Harry stopped in mid-sentence as he turned around to find Malfoy basically hugging him. His grey eyes looked up into Harry's green ones, and for a moment, Harry almost forgot how wrong the position was, with Malfoy's warm breath on his neck…

"Get away!" Harry yelled, pushing him back. "What do you think you're doing?"

Malfoy smirked again. "You don't realise how gorgeous you are, do you Potter? I guess the Weasel girl doesn't appreciate you enough."

Harry looked around wildly, trying to ignore the fact that it felt like Malfoy's breath was still heating up his neck. He shut the fridge slowly behind him, trying hard to keep his breathing steady. Why on earth was he feeling like this? It was ridiculous, and sick as well!

Again, Harry hadn't noticed Malfoy come two steps closer to him, and place his hand on Harry's arm.

"You're warm, Potter, is everything ok?" Malfoy asked sarcastically.

"Don't touch me!" Harry yelled.

"Shh, calm down, Potter, everything's ok."

"Don't tell me to shush, Malfoy! There's no one in this house to wake up anyway!" Harry shouted, regretting it after he had said it, for Malfoy's eyebrow raised.

"I'm glad you noticed," He said, "You can always be as loud as you want…"

Malfoy put particular care in spacing out the last five words of his sentence, which made Harry writhe. Harry's heart pace was a lot faster now, and he could feel the blood rushing to his face as he realised that Malfoy was still holding him.

"Get off!" He shouted, shrugging Malfoy's hand off his arm. "And leave me alone!"

Harry strode towards the door, knowing Malfoy was just willing him to look back, but he didn't, he kept moving quickly until he reached his bedroom. As he flopped onto his bed, he realised that he was shaking slightly, and sweat was dripping form his head. He lay there for a good ten minutes, with his eyes wide open. He heard Malfoy make his way back to his room, and heard his door click shut. Harry relaxed.

Slowly, he swung his legs fully onto the bed and under the duvet. It was a lot lighter in his room now, but he still couldn't make out objects at the far end of the room. He reached for his glasses and put them on, then leant over the edge of his bed to rummage in his trunk. He found it quickly, and pulled it out to look at.

Ginny smiled up at him, waving her hand frantically in a surge of excitement. Harry smiled weakly. And then, totally unexpectedly, a tear trickled down his right cheek, and he fell asleep, with the picture in his hand, his stomach still rumbling effortlessly.

* * *

Draco woke up three hours later, and the first thing he did was feel around 'down there'. He wasn't hard anymore, that was a good thing. Not that it mattered, however; it wasn't him that was in denial about what was clearly happening. He lay in bed for a few more minutes and wondered to himself whether Harry had gone back to his room last night with an arousal. He smirked as he realised that he probably had done, and just not realised it.

Draco stretched as he got lazily out of bed. The little amount of sleep he had gotten last night didn't bode well for the day he had planned for himself. But he was going to have to get over that, as he had important errands to run.

Soon, Draco was downstairs, eating his breakfast, and he actually felt rather nervous. It wasn't natural for Malfoy's to be nervous about things such as these, but then again, Harry Potter could make anyone nervous.

If Harry came down the stairs this morning, even with the excuse of being hungry, it meant that he wanted more of what happened last night, even if he didn't realise it. Of course, Draco wouldn't leap on him as soon as he walked into the room, because he knew that, sexy as Harry was, he didn't have a clue about things like this. He'd tell Draco that he was hungry, and intended to get some food, but he wouldn't realise that deep down, he was telling himself to come down because he wanted to see Draco.

Harry had probably written a lengthy letter to Weaselette last night/this morning, about how much he loved her and missed her and 'wanted her so badly', but again, Draco knew that deep down, Harry only did it to reassure_ himself_ of those facts, _not_ Weasley.

Just as Draco finished his breakfast, and was beginning to loose hope on his theory that he was so sure of, he heard footsteps in the hall, and they weren't Hetty's footsteps, either.

He smirked as the door opened and there stood Harry Potter, sex god (or so Draco hoped) of the universe, the Boy Who was Sexy, the Chosen Hot One.

Of course, Harry was fully dressed this morning, which was a shame, but Draco knew that was a security thing; plus, he hadn't been down without a top on before in the morning, so why should he start now? Draco let that one slide.

He wanted to let Harry say the first word, so kept silent as he sat down opposite him, and he picked up some toast from a plate.

Finally, after Harry had had a few bites of his newly buttered toast, he looked at Draco.

It was obvious that he wasn't going to say the first word, so Draco tried hard not to roll his eyes as he said, "Good morning. I'm glad to see you've got your appetite back."

"I'd never lost it…" Harry murmured.

Draco smirked. "Just didn't want to see me?" He said sadly, "I'm hurt, Potter."

Harry looked up at him again, with an evil look in his eye. Draco shuddered. "Are you going somewhere today?" Harry asked him, changing the subject.

"How did you guess?" Draco asked in return.

"You're dressed smarter than usual."

"I always dress smarter than you, Potter, if you hadn't noticed," Draco replied cheekily.

"I didn't say you're dressed smarter than me!" He raised his voice, "I said you're dressed smarter than _usual_."

"Yes, yes, I heard you correctly the first time," Draco said tetchily. Potter was starting to get on his nerves, but that was one of the things that he… loved, about him. "And I am going somewhere, now that you mention it."

"Where?"

"Hogwarts."

"What? Why?" Potter questioned quickly.

"Because, I need to see Professor McGonagall. And no, you can't come – again."

"Why?! And why are you seeing her again? What are you seeing her for?" Harry asked agitatedly.

"You just asked the same question in three different contexts, did you realise that, Potter?" Draco jibed, continuing to say, "And I can't give you the answer to it."

"Not even why I can't come?" Potter moaned.

"Well, that one's obvious."

Potter sat back in a rage for a few minutes, and Draco couldn't help but stare at how beautiful his eyes were when he was in a mood. His whole face, in fact. He smirked again.

"It's amazing how you can just put things behind you, Potter," He said.

Harry looked up. "What do you mean?"

"Well, our meeting this morning wasn't exactly what you'd call 'innocent', was it?" Draco said.

Harry seemed to cringe back. "It was on my part."

"Well, whatever," Draco waved the comment aside, "What I'm saying is, you were obviously very embarrassed, and now, you seem fine."

"You had no right to do what you did!" Harry snarled.

Draco just couldn't stop himself from smirking now, "You mean put a hand on your arm? Walk a little closer to you? And anyway, if you hadn't come down, if you hadn't moved here, then none of it would have happened. It's your fault really."

"Shut up!" Potter yelled, finally; Draco loved it when Potter was angry. "It's not my fault you can't control your hormones! Just go to Hogwarts and get fucked by someone! That will sort you out!"

Draco smiled and rolled his eyes as he stood up. "Ok, I'll do as you say. I'll say hello to your Weaselette for you, shall I?"

He went to walk out of the room, expecting Harry to shout out at him, but nothing happened. He was surprised that he could now openly insult Potter's 'girlfriend', and not get punched. But perhaps that was a good thing. He would have to wait and see.

* * *

Draco walked through the corridors of Hogwarts. Being a Saturday, there were students milling all over the place, but none in classrooms. When he reached the headmistresses office, he muttered the word 'headteacher', and the old stone gargoyle leapt aside for him to step on the stone stairs that revolved around.

He knocked on the door to the office and heard McGonagall say the word 'enter', so he did so.

The office hadn't changed since Draco visited last time. All the silver instruments that had once belonged to Albus Dumbledore sat in the correct places, and Professor McGonagall sat in the large chair behind the desk, waiting for him to sit opposite her.

"Mr Malfoy, I'm glad you could make it at such short notice," McGonagall started after Draco had sat down. "I just wanted to see you a bit earlier this term, since Potter's fall off his broom."

Draco nodded.

"How is he baring up then?" She asked.

"He's fine," Draco answered. "A bit thinner than usual, but then again, Professor Lupin told me he was thinner before he started to live at mine than he was just before the fall, so I suppose if you were to see him, he'd be about the same."

"Well, what about his personality, what's happened with your friendship?" McGonagall asked.

Draco swallowed. A lie or the truth? Easy decision!

"What friendship?" He said, "Just because we live together doesn't mean we're friends."

"Oh, Draco!" McGonagall exclaimed.

"But I suppose we're not at each other throats all the time anymore," Draco added. _I wish something of mine was at his throat though… _He thought to himself.

"Oh, well that's ok isn't it! So, do you speak often? More often than last time I saw you? Has he told you anything about the Order's work, or about his past? Anything like that?"

Draco shook his head truthfully. "No, we… don't really talk about his past. I suppose it's a disturbing subject for him."

"Well yes, Draco, but that's the reason he should talk about it. We put him in your house, under your care. We knew that you would listen to him. And you never know, if you get him to open up to you, you may become friends." McGonagall smiled.

Three difficult hours later, Draco walked back down the now empty corridors of the castle. These meetings about Harry were getting tougher, and it was only his second one. He dreaded to think what would happen if Harry knew that Draco was coming to see McGonagall to talk about his welfare. He'd go mad at him. 'I don't need caring for, or looking after', he'd shout. Draco rolled his eyes. It was strange how well he knew Harry, even though they hardly ever spoke.

A voice stirred Draco from his thoughts as he walked along the seventh floor corridor.

"Oh Dean!" The voice laughed. Draco cringed; he knew that voice.

He stopped dead as two figures basically fell around the corner to face him. Weaselette and Dean Thomas stood before him. The Weasel gasped and pushed Dean away.

"Malfoy!" She exclaimed.

"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" Dean asked.

"I could ask the same of you," Draco replied calmly, looking Dean up and down. He then looked at Weasley. Her top buttons of her shirt were undone, and her tie loose. Draco smirked.

"I failed most of my NEWTs, so I'm re-taking seventh year," Dean answered.

"Shame," Malfoy replied, "I thought you'd fail all of them."

"At least I was allowed to take seventh year, Malfoy! I didn't try to kill anyone!" Dean tried to shout.

Draco merely rolled his eyes and looked at them both again. "Having a good Saturday then, Weasley?" He asked sarcastically.

"Dean and I were just going to see Professor McGonagall," She lied quickly.

Now she'd done it. Speaking quickly was the first way of telling that someone was lying. That was if you could tell they were making up their excuse. But Malfoy knew very well, from his sixth year, what room was on this floor. In fact, Malfoy had just walked right past the stone wall.

"I see," He said.

"How's… How's Harry?" She asked.

"Missing you," He loathed to answer her.

Before she could reply, Draco swept past them and carried on walking. Of course, the whole situation was brilliant for him, but he hated the fact that Harry would be hurt by it. On the other hand, who would be the only person in the house for Harry to cry on, when he was told? Draco smirked as he made his way back home, secretly thanking the stupid Weaselette as he went.

* * *

**A/N** Hehe, hope you liked this chapter. Hopefully it's getting a bit more angsty??? Hope so! Thanks for reading! 


	11. Breath

**A/N** Thanks to reviewer:

**Zaraki.chan: **Thanks for being my only reviewer! And I know… nervous Harry is almost hotter than normal Harry!!! But angry Harry is deffo the hottest hehe!!!

Breath

_Ginny_

_I need you. I miss you so much. I can't stand being here with that bloody git any more. If there was some way for you to sneak out of Hogwarts and come here, would you do it? Or find a way for me to sneak out and go there? I just need to see you, Gin. I need to hold you, hug you, kiss you. All over. I can't believe how much I'm talking like a girl. But, things have been happening here, and you're the only one that could make me feel any better about it, I know it!_

_Please, Ginny, write back telling me that everything's ok, and that you will see me soon._

_All my love, _

_Harry xxx_

"Go on, Hedwig, off to Hogwarts," Harry told his owl as he opened the window in his bedroom.

It was three days since Harry and Malfoy's last argument, and Harry hadn't eaten again. He was beginning to feel the faintness in his head, and his body was becoming weak, but it was all he could do not to go downstairs and face Malfoy again.

Harry had sent one letter each day, the first, to Hermione, the second to Ron, and this, the most recent, to Ginny. And he didn't care what Malfoy had to say about it either. At the moment, Harry didn't care if the Death Eaters did find him; at least he would be taken away from this place.

His eyes were drooping shut as his head hung out of the window into the setting sun, but just before they surrendered to whatever form of sleep Harry would go into, a loud knocking startled them open again.

"Potter!" Malfoy called through the door. "Potter, I just… Are you ok? I'm – a bit worried…"

Harry lifted his weak arm to open the door with his wand. Malfoy strode in at the sight of him.

"Harry!" Malfoy exclaimed, "What have you been doing?" He knelt down beside him. "I knew you'd locked yourself in here, but I didn't realise you weren't eating!"

"I don't know how to conjure food," Harry admitted, "But I'm still ok," He added, pushing Malfoy backwards with some force, "See?"

It took a moment for Harry to realise that he was foolishly smiling, and that Malfoy was smiling weakly back at him.

He shook his head, "What do you want?"

"I told you, to make sure you're ok; I was worried," Malfoy replied, moving closer again.

"Well I'm fine thanks," Harry said, standing up. Conversation made him more active, which was strange. He thought it would have made him more tired.

There was a pause in conversation as Harry sat down on his bed.

"You didn't even come and see me when I got back from Hogwarts the other day," Malfoy said.

"Why should I have?"

"Well," Malfoy said, smirking now, "I would have thought you'd want to know if I saw your little Weasel!"

Harry looked at him and smirked as well. He then hid it quickly. He had no idea where that came from!

"Potter, please, will you come downstairs and eat? Or maybe I could just get Hetty to bring you some food up, she'll answer to your call as well, you know!" Malfoy said, all a little too kindly.

Harry eyed him, "What do you want?"

"To help!"

"Why, I'm fine!" Harry yelled.

"You're not fine, Potter! You're far from it!" Malfoy shouted back unexpectedly. "I've never seen you so pale!"

"I look just like you…" Harry could stop himself from saying as he realised it. It was true after all; his skin was almost as light as Malfoy's now. Something happened on Malfoy's face, but Harry couldn't really tell what it was, but he changed the subject quickly anyway. "Did you see Ginny at Hogwarts then?" He asked hopefully.

"What?" Malfoy asked absent-mindedly. "Oh," He paused, "Uh… N-no."

Harry rolled his eyes. Stupid little git. "Then why get my hopes up?" He said sharply.

"Because…" Malfoy replied slowly, "That's what we do isn't it? We're mean to each other!"

Harry felt a surge of rage. And then, suddenly, it stopped and was replaced by something that he couldn't really understand, but it was close to sadness, he thought.

"Malfoy, we need to sort this out…" He said quietly.

"Sort what out?"

"Well, one minute we're at each others throats, and the next we're laughing together. I can't stand it," Harry explained.

There was another pause in the room. Malfoy seemed to be considering something, but Harry didn't know what.

"Come down and eat something," Malfoy said, "I – I just want to help you."

Harry was going to argue back, but he figured he'd done that enough recently. So slowly, he stood up from his bed, and followed Malfoy out of the room; utterly surprised that they had agreed on something.

* * *

Draco tried not to watch Harry eat, but it was so amazing. Every time he swallowed, his throat would stretch into a different position and every time he used his arm to lift his fork, the veins in it stuck out from lack of use. Harry was so delicious. Why couldn't he see that? And why couldn't he understand that Draco was falling in love with him? He knew why. Gryffindor's were too set in their 'traditions', as it were, to notice anything that changed around them. He was so stubborn; refusing to admit his love for a Slytherin. For Draco knew it was in Harry, somewhere. And not that deep down either.

So why hadn't Draco told him about seeing Weasley at Hogwarts the other day, as that would have made Harry admit to the truth? Draco knew the answer to that as well. He loved him too much to hurt him. That hopeful face that Harry got when he asked Draco about her, like all the fate of the world rested on him seeing her, or at least hearing about her… Draco couldn't have killed that hope that the Weasel still loved Harry.

"Malfoy!"

Draco jumped; how many times had Harry said his name?

"Is everything ok? You're staring," Harry stated.

"Yes… I'm fine…" Draco started to smirk. It was worth a shot… wasn't it? "And so are you," He added.

"What?"

"Oh come on, Potter, you know you're hot…" Draco sneered, "Everywhere…"

Harry jumped up from his chair in a rage, "For fuck sake, Malfoy! Did we not just have a civilised conversation?! Like friends?"

"So?" Draco shrugged.

"I thought you'd gotten over your stupid little crush!"

"Crush? I beg your pardon?" Draco retorted. Harry started to laugh a little. Draco's heart thumped three times as fast upon hearing it, and he strode closer to Harry, who retreated a few steps. But Draco continued to walk anyway, backing Harry up against the wall. "You see, Harry? You can't tell me that you hate me when you laugh like that." He put his hand on Harry's arm.

"Get off!" Harry said weakly. Draco smirked, he was breaking him. He hadn't even tried to shrug Draco off…

"Harry…" Draco whispered, feeling Harry shudder slightly as he did so… "Say my name…"

"What?"

"Please, say my name," Draco said, pretending to beg.

"Malfoy…" Harry muttered confusedly.

"No, not that one," He pressed into Harry's body with his own, and got a slight shock as he felt his own stiffened cock press against another.

"D-Draco…" Harry's voice shook.

Draco shuddered this time, unable to hold it back. "I know you can feel it too, Harry…"

Harry's breathing was quick, and his breath was warm on Draco's forehead.

"You can't deny it anymore…" Draco said, standing up to his full height, his lips moving steadily towards Harry's… He could feel his pulse drum through his entire body, and as he touched Harry's face to lower his head, he felt sweat mounting on the black haired boys head.

"Draco…" Harry mumbled, his lips almost touching Draco's as they were that close.

"Don't sp…"

"Master Malfoy, sir…"

The moment was gone as soon as Hetty squeaked. Harry jumped to the side, out of Draco's grip. Draco almost screamed out in rage.

"What?" He yelled at his stupid little house elf.

"A visitor, sir," Hetty said in a terrified voice, "She says it's urgent. A, Miss Weasley."

* * *

Harry's heart stopped. How long had there been silence in the room now? At least a minute – but it was the longest minute of Harry's life. He had no idea what to do, what was going on or what just happened. He looked at Malfoy, however much he didn't want to, who was staring at him. He was sure the look on Malfoy's face was sadness, but he must have been wrong. Then again, considering what had just happened…

"Sir?" Hetty squeaked at Malfoy.

Harry left the room before Malfoy replied to her, wiping his hand over his face and into his hair as he did so. His face was wet from sweat. But then he saw her, and the world stopped. She was soaked through, it must have been raining outside. He had no idea how she had gotten out of Hogwarts Castle, but he didn't care. His knees went weak and he almost fell on the floor.

"Harry…" Ginny whispered.

"Gin…"

Harry noticed a few tears rolling down Ginny's cheeks as she sped towards him. "You said things were bad, but I didn't realise… Oh, Harry, why didn't you…"

Harry cut her off by pressing his dry, chapped lips against hers. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and opened his mouth. Ginny's followed his and soon their tongues were lapping each other ferociously. Harry took a few steps forwards, hoping it was towards the stairs since he wasn't bothering to open his eyes and look.

"Harry!"

The kiss broke, but it wasn't Harry that broke it. Ginny's eyes were terrified as she looked at Malfoy in the doorway to the dining room, but Harry had no idea why.

"I need to talk to you, now!" Malfoy hissed at him.

"No!" Harry shouted, louder than anticipated.

"Harry, please! I need to tell you something!" Malfoy shouted up the stairs, where Harry and Ginny were still walking.

"Fuck off!" Harry yelled, taking Ginny's hand and whisking her around the corner at the top of the stairs.

The bedroom door slammed loudly behind them as Harry led Ginny towards the bed, taking off her shirt and bra as he did so. By the time they reached the bed, they were both topless, and Ginny had her hand on Harry's erection through his trousers – which came off soon after hers.

Harry basically pinned Ginny's naked body down on the bed, and thrust inside her without a second thought. She cried out in a mixture of pain and pleasure, and Harry worked hard to keep himself from coming then and there. Everything from that point on was like Harry's release. And he forgot about almost everything apart from her, and how amazing it felt to be one with her again.

* * *

"I just think you need to get away from him," Ginny repeated for the third time that night.

Harry sighed as he finally started to get dressed. "Ok, ok, but I can't, can I!" He was so angry at himself at the moment, for saying that he 'couldn't' leave the manor… Was it that he couldn't, or that he wouldn't? "Anyway, you need to be getting back to Hogwarts."

Ginny smiled slightly, "Ok, but promise me that you'll eat more!"

Harry winced slightly… The thought of eating right now appealed to him almost more than having sex for the third time in a row, but he just didn't want to face Malfoy. This had been the strangest night of Harry's life, and he would have wanted to forget it, had it not been for Ginny coming round them making love to each other twice already.

"Harry," Ginny was standing next to him now, with her underwear back on her body, "Please, eat." He stared at her for a moment longer. "Why don't you want to talk to Malfoy?" She asked cautiously.

"N-no reason," Harry stuttered in response.

"Has he said something to you?" She asked, her voice highly strung now.

"Um… In a way…" Harry replied, not looking at her.

"About me?" She asked quickly.

Harry cast a confused smile in her direction, "Why would he say anything about you? He hasn't seen you since you last came here."

Ginny's face relaxed. Harry raised his eyebrow once more, but then forgot about her strange behaviour as she left fifteen minutes later; making him promise to eat as soon as she left the manor.

Harry kissed her goodbye and told her to thank her friend for covering for her for the evening. Then, he watched her walk down the drive, down the street, and finally, disappear so that she couldn't be seen.

He closed the front door softly and turned towards the dining room, almost having a heart attack as he did so.

Malfoy stood there, about five feet away, with his arms folded, his expression set.

"How much do you love her in comparison with me?" He asked sombrely.

Harry rolled his eyes and started to walk towards the kitchen. "I don't love you."

"You don't love her either," Malfoy snapped, "She's just your fuck buddy!"

Harry spun around to face him, "Don't be so bloody immature, Malfoy! Just because you don't have a heart able to love someone doesn't mean that I don't!"

"Oh, so if I don't have a heart like that then what is it that I feel for you?" Malfoy asked sarcastically, following Harry into the kitchen.

"Lust."

Harry caught Malfoy's face spread to a smirk from the corner of his eye, and his hand tingled. "Lust isn't the half of it, Potter… _Lust_ is what you get when you think someone is hot. _Lust_ is what you feel when you want to do someone once to see how it feels. But I don't want that. I want to feel you, not see how it feels for me. And I don't think you're hot, I think you're beautiful."

Harry cursed inside his head as he realised how fast and hard his heart was beating. He shook it off and continued with his argument about Ginny.

"I don't see what you have against Ginny anyway!" He said loudly, mentally kicking himself afterwards. What did anything like that have to do with the subject in hand? And wasn't it totally obvious what Malfoy had against her?

"She has you – quite literally, may I add – and I don't," Malfoy replied.

"She has me because I love her, and she'd never wrong me like I know you would!" Harry kicked himself again. Now Malfoy would think that Harry had been thinking about what it would be like to be with him.

"Oh really?" Malfoy said, raising an eyebrow, "And what if I were to tell you…"

"She's the only thing in this world that can make me happy anymore," Harry cut in, ignoring Malfoy, "Even Ron and Hermione make me angry sometimes."

Malfoy's smirk disappeared, and his face sort of, crumpled… Had Harry done it? Finally gotten the message through to Malfoy that he didn't want him? Just by saying that Ginny made him happy, and Malfoy didn't?

"I see…" Malfoy said quietly.

Harry tried hard to prevent himself from cocking his head to the side.

"Well, Potter," Malfoy hissed suddenly, "One day, you will give in to temptation, and that day, you'll learn the truth."

He walked away, out of the room and, by the sounds of it, up the stairs to his bed room. Harry blinked blankly at the door, replaying Malfoy's final words in his head. '…you'll learn the truth.'

Harry scoffed. The truth about what? How ridiculous.

One thing was certain, again, in Harry's head, however. Draco Malfoy was, as always, a git.

* * *

Draco tried with difficulty not to kick everything in his room as he paced around in circles. Why? Why was he so ridiculous?! Why had he not told Harry what he saw at Hogwarts the moment he returned from the school three days ago? Or even more, why hadn't he just told him the truth when Harry asked him earlier that day?

He let out a frustrated growl as he sat on his bed quickly.

He knew why he hadn't told Harry about the Weasel's 'affair' – as it were. He didn't want to see him get hurt. That thing he said, about Weasley being the only one to make him happy… It had cut Draco up into pieces. If Draco told him the truth, would Harry ever be able to forgive him for taking away his last piece of happiness? But Harry had to know, otherwise Draco would never succeed in seducing him. But would that be selfish? But telling Harry the truth would surely have the good eventual outcome?

Draco sighed as he laid down. Tell the truth for Harry's happy future – or lie for Harry's happy present? Which was more important…?

* * *

**A/N** Hmm, I hope that last little bit made sense… It did for me anyway, but I'm the author lol!! Tell me if you didn't understand and I'll explain for you in the start of the next chapter! I think you're all intelligent people though, so it should be fine hehe! Thanks for reading! 


	12. I Need You

**A/N** Thanks to reviewers:

**Njferrell: **Hehe, yes I know which word you meant! But its not the fact that Harry might not believe Draco, its that Draco doesn't want to see him get hurt. Bless him…

**Luxa: **Thanks hehe! I'm glad that you liked the cliffy, but that's not getting resolved for a while yet…

**Zaraki.chan: **I know!!! It's so funny the way that they're always so close and then one of Harry's friends comes round hehe!!! But Draco always blames it on poor Hetty lol!!!

I Need You

Harry was throwing up. Why? He had no idea. But it had been a day and a half now, and it pained him to even get out of bed. The sight of food made him feel sick, and the smell of it set him off. He had no idea how he could have caught a bug, unless Ginny had carried it to the manor two days earlier, but it was certainly that. At first he had thought it was because of eating copious amounts of food after eating nothing at all, but that wouldn't have lasted as long as this. So he came to the conclusion that he had eaten something that wasn't cooked properly, and that Malfoy hadn't eaten. This would have made sense, as the day after Ginny had visited, Malfoy didn't eat his lunch, and Harry did.

Slowly and weakly, Harry stood up and flushed the toilet. He staggered back to his bed and climbed in, basically having to drag his arms and legs after him.

There was a knock on the door.

_Not now… _He thought wearily as the door opened quietly.

"Harry?"

Malfoy's voice sounded worried, and even though it was weak, Harry's heart gave a small jolt. He cursed.

"Are you still ill?" Malfoy said, walking towards the bed.

"What does it look like?" Harry answered pathetically.

Malfoy groaned, "I'm going to kill that stupid elf!"

"Don't bother," Harry replied, "People are allowed to undercook things sometimes, it's not her fault!"

"But look at you!" Malfoy moaned.

"I look the same as normal…" Harry started.

"Just paler…" Malfoy finished.

Harry paused and looked at him for a moment, and then turned his head away. He wished his heart would stop pounding whenever he looked at those lips…

"Is there anything I can do for you?" Malfoy asked quietly after two minutes of silence.

Harry shook his head.

"You know you have to look at me sometime," Malfoy stated. "We have to… Talk about the other day…"

"There's nothing to talk about!" Harry snapped suddenly, swinging his head up far too quickly. He felt like he was going to throw up, but he couldn't get out of bed; he was only wearing boxer shorts.

He gagged violently and swallowed, which made the situation far worse, and he threw up all over the duvet that covered his entire body.

Malfoy, who had given a squeamish jolt, looked absolutely disgusted. Harry couldn't help but laugh.

"I'll…" Malfoy said squeamishly, "I'll get Hetty…"

"There's no need," Harry smiled. He took his wand from the bedside table, "_Scourgify_," He muttered, and the debris of his illness was quickly siphoned away.

Malfoy conjured a glass of water, which Harry later sipped on, and they sat in silence for many more minutes, Malfoy obviously not wanting to carry on with their previous conversation.

After wasted minutes of Harry trying not to fall asleep, he said quietly, "What time is it?"

"About two o'clock," Malfoy answered. Harry saw his hand move a little towards him. "I – I hope you don't mind me being here, I just… was bored…"

"I like you being here," Harry replied without thinking. He bit his tongue painfully after the words dripped from it, and started to shake a little.

Malfoy smiled, very slightly, at him, and his hand moved closer to Harry's bed.

"Have you heard from Ron or Hermione at all?" Harry asked, trying to take his attention away from Malfoy's wandering hand.

"No, should I have?"

Harry shrugged. "I want to know when they want me to destroy the…" He stopped.

Malfoy cocked his head to the side to study him, and Harry's mouth smiled weakly. Malfoy had never done that before, it was… dare he think it… cute.

"Destroy what?" Malfoy asked.

"N-nothing," Harry answered quickly.

"Is it Order work?" He asked eagerly.

"I can't tell you."

"Please!"

Harry shook his head.

"Please!" Harry shook at the tone Malfoy was using; almost like a child was sweetly trying to get something. He shook his head.

"No!" Harry yelled.

Malfoy jumped back a way in his chair before his eyebrows moved closer together in a frowning motion. "I just want to help, Harry. You can let your feelings out on me, I don't mind. And maybe I can ask Gr-Her-Hermione for some… information…" He stuttered on the word 'Hermione', while saying it slowly, like it was something that would make him sick. But he had said it anyway, and Harry smiled. Malfoy smiled back. "I want to help," He repeated.

"If you want to help, stay with me."

Harry cursed again. Where were these words coming from?! Even Malfoy looked shocked this time, as a smile did not appear on his face but his eyes widened.

"I'm sorry…" Harry mumbled, but then a hand touched his, and Harry looked up, getting a sense of 'finally' in his head.

"Don't be," Malfoy replied quietly.

"Malfoy, I don't…" Harry stopped, he couldn't think of how to say it without hurting him.

"What?"

"I… I don't love you…" He said, shaking his head slowly.

The grip on Harry's hand faltered, but then a smile appeared on Malfoy's face again.

"Ok…" Malfoy replied quietly.

* * *

'I don't love you…'

'I _don't_ love you…'

'_Malfoy,_ I _don't_ love you…'

Harry couldn't help but wonder how true (or false) that sentence was. Of course, he wanted it to be true. But even three days after saying it, it hadn't stuck in his head the way he wanted it to.

He paced his room a couple more times, now back to almost full health, and then sat on the seat at the window. He dragged his hand messily through his wild hair, and rubbed his scar in plain aggravation. But, now that he thought about it, it did prickle a bit. His scar, that was – not his hand… which still tingled at the thought of Malfoy's soft flesh on it… Harry rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe he'd just done that. Gone from thinking of something as important as Voldemort, to the feel of his 'enemy's' skin on his. And what did that word mean anymore? For Harry was sure that if it wasn't for Draco's – Malfoy's – lust, then they would be very good friends by now. And that was another thing, why had Harry found it so difficult to say 'Malfoy' the other day? Of course, he hadn't let on that that was how he felt, but after calling him Draco the day that Ginny came round, 'Malfoy' just sounded cruel and heartless.

His scar prickled again, and Harry sighed. That either meant that Voldemort was close, happy, or angry. Something had definitely happened, but the Order weren't keeping him informed at all. The only person he'd heard from for ages was Ginny, and she didn't know anything about what the Order were trying to do. And then a jolt of excitement went through him, what if his scar was prickling because the Order had destroyed a Horcrux and Voldemort knew? But then, sadness overcame that excitement; had they done it without him? When they told him that he could do it himself?

Harry stood up, clenched his fists and let out a sort of grunt before realising that the door was open and Malfoy stood there, smirking.

"What?" Harry asked irritably.

Malfoy laughed, still smirking, "I was coming to see how you're feeling, but I see that you're fine." Harry watched him walked across the room towards him. "Is something wrong? Have you got a letter from someone?"

Harry scrutinized him for a moment, and then replied, "No, my scar is hurting." He then rolled his eyes so that Malfoy couldn't see. That must have sounded so stupid to him.

"It hurts?" Malfoy jumped up from where he had previously taken a seat, and sprung in front of Harry, looking terrified. "Has it done that before?"

Harry couldn't stop the smile spreading across his face and letting out a short laugh. "Yes, it does it all the time. Not for a while though…" He added thoughtfully.

"Well, is it a bad thing?" Malfoy asked, hiding the slight embarrassment of being worried – or that's what it looked like.

"Well… Sometimes…" Harry mumbled, and then decided on the truth. "Yes."

"Why? How is it bad? What happens?"

Harry laughed again, "Don't worry, all that happens is I can see Voldemort's thoughts and feel his feelings."

Malfoy gawped.

"I'm used to it," Harry waved it aside and started to add "But Dumbledore said…"

He stopped. A sudden urge to change the subject dawned on him. He didn't want to speak of Dumbledore right now.

Malfoy closed his mouth and turned away slightly. They stood in silence for minutes on end, Harry's scar prickling worse by the minute.

"Draco," Harry whispered, "I need to see the Order members; soon."

"I'll get them to come here…"

"No," Harry cut in, "I want to go to them. I want… I want to go back to Grimmauld Place."

Malfoy looked at him as if he took offence.

"It's nothing like that…" Harry reassured him. "I just… I get scared when my scar hurts… It's like it's a sign. I want to see everyone. Including Ginny."

Malfoy's head twitched uncomfortably. "Is something going to happen?" He asked.

Harry paused and shut his eyes as if to form a good answer in his head, but instead he saw a bald, snakelike, and yet human, figure giving orders to a tall, dark haired wizard. Voldemort started to laugh, quietly at first, then louder and louder. He turned and saw a meek little man on the ground. There was a flash of green light as the laughter got louder, and then the man was dead. But it didn't stop there. Voldemort turned and Harry saw three other death eaters, kneeling, waiting for their fate. Three more green flashes, and four bodies lay unmoving on the ground.

"Harry!"

Harry opened his eyes to realise that he was on the floor, sweating.

"What's happened?" Malfoy said loudly, shaking Harry, "I'm going to get someone!"

Harry wiped his face, "No! It's ok, I'm fine!"

Malfoy was halfway to the door before he stopped and turned around. "You're sure?"

Harry tried to clamber to his feet, "Totally," He sighed. "Can you… Can you help me up please?"

Malfoy rushed forward and took Harry's hand, pulling him up quickly. As Harry stood on his feet he wobbled a little, shaking. "Thanks," He said quietly.

He realised that their hands were still holding one another, and made an effort to pull his away, but despite him being bigger and stronger than Malfoy, his grip was tight on Harry's hand.

"Did you see something, then?" Malfoy said, not letting him go.

"Like what?" Harry asked wearily.

"I won't let you go until you tell me what you saw."

Harry eyed him suspiciously, not really understanding, but his hand was beginning to tingle again, and he hated that.

"Voldemort killed some Death Eaters," Harry said quietly, "He knows about the Horcruxes."

Malfoy released him. "The what?"

"The… I can't tell you," Harry replied.

"Why not?"

"Because…"

"You don't trust me?" Malfoy finished his sentence for him.

"No…" Harry tried, "You're just… You're not in the Order."

"So, in other words, you don't trust me," Malfoy went slightly pink in the face, which didn't often happen, so Harry stepped back a few steps. "Even after you've lived here for two months, you don't trust me. Do you honestly think that if I were a Death Eater I'd have Harry Potter live at my house and not let the Dark Lord know?"

"Only Death Eaters call him the dark lord!" Harry shouted uncontrollably.

"I'm not a Death Eater!" Malfoy snapped.

"I don't care if you're not now, you were! And that changes everything!" Harry yelled.

"Even your feelings for me?" Malfoy shouted back.

Harry's heart skipped a beat. "I don't have feelings for you," He said quietly.

"Then prove it!" Malfoy said, still with a raised voice.

"What?" Harry asked, looking up.

"I… I don't want you here if you don't feel anything for me!" Malfoy demanded. "Go back to your Grimmauld Place and tell them all about your scar! Tell them what you saw! Don't bother about me! No one cares about me, just because my father was evil…"

Harry stared with a most confused look on his face. Where had that burst out from? He thought that he was the only one to say things he didn't mean. And then, with a great shock, Harry saw a tear fall down Malfoy's cheek. That's when Harry realised; it wasn't a stupid crush, or pure lust that had a hold on Malfoy. He didn't really want Harry to leave at all.

He felt a stab of guilt, followed by one of pity. Malfoy had taken Harry in when they were such enemies, to protect him from Voldemort, and then fallen in love with him. And Harry repaid him by not trusting him and thinking him a traitor.

Malfoy's tongue popped out of his closed lips and caught the one tear that had reached the corner of his mouth, and Harry's hand jolted at his side. It sickened him to realise that he wanted to hold him, and make him feel better.

And then, his tongue, lips and voice all acted of their own accord again.

"I'm sorry Draco…" He said quietly. His feet carried him towards Malfoy with an action that Harry hadn't told them to do. "I know you're not a Death Eater, and I don't want to leave."

Malfoy looked up and smirked weakly. "Is this you finally admitting that you want me, Potter?" He asked quietly.

Harry shook his head slowly, "I need you, I don't want you."

They were so close again now, their faces only inches apart.

"It's sometimes better to be needed than wanted," Malfoy said, moving ever closer to Harry. "I need you too, you know."

Harry leaned down slightly, his heart beating faster than it had for a long while. His hand felt electric as it moved to Draco's back, and a shiver shot up his spine as Draco's hand did the same to him.

"You have no idea how long I've waited to feel your lips, Harry…" Draco whispered so that Harry could feel his breath mingle with his own.

He had no time to reply, however, as Draco's lips pressed onto his, softly at first, and then started to push harder so that Harry had to push back as to not fall over. His eyes closed, and a series of images flashed through his mind. Draco, naked, was the first, which aroused him quickly. However, the following images were less beautiful than that. Ron and Hermione stood, looking completely disgusted and disowning, Lupin shook his head disappointedly, and suddenly, and for the longest time, Ginny lingered in his head, crying and screaming at him.

"Master."

Draco's lips were gone and Harry opened his eyes to see Hetty standing at the door. He couldn't decide whether he was frustrated or glad of the sight of her appearance.

"Hetty," Draco hissed, "If you don't start to knock on doors before you enter rooms, I will punish you."

"Hetty apologises, master Malfoy," The elf squeaked shakily, "But Miss Granger and Mr Weasley are in the hall. They say they urgently need to speak to Mr Potter, sir."

Draco's head spun towards Harry, but to his surprise, he wasn't glaring as usual. He was smirking. "Shall we continue this later, then?" He said sleekly.

Harry got a shock as he was reminded of the old Malfoy he used to go to school with, and an even larger shock as he realised he quite liked the smooth tone of his voice.

Harry formulated his face into a half smirk, but somehow a half worried look as well, before he said, "We'll see," And walked out of the room.

* * *

**A/N** Hehehe!! Ok? Hope so! Please remember (as the time draws nearer) that I've never written slash before, so please forgive me if its not very good. I'll try my best though! 


	13. Meaningless

**A/N** Thanks to reviewers:

**Luxa:** Because it wouldn't be a good story is people didn't interrupt now would it?! Hehe!!

**Fufu.a.k.a.speechless: **Tehe… You'll have to wait and see:)

**Zaraki.chan: **Hehe, thanks for all your comments!! I shall take that last one into account… :)

**Munku – JGSPVT: **Thanks for both of your lovely (and nice and long) reviews! I appreciate both of them. I was starting to think that I'd lost you as a faithful reader, because you hadn't reviewed in so long, but YAY you're back hehe!! Hehe, I love how you keep asking questions, I'm not going to answer them right now you know lol!! I'd forgotten just then that you don't know what Ron and Hermione say, because I wrote this chapter a few days ago, and thought I'd already uploaded it, but obviously not lol!! I'm half way through chapter fourteen now woops! Anyway, off the subject… As I said to Luxa, a story wouldn't be a good story if people didn't get interrupted lol!! That's what makes it even more angsty, if it could get any worse hehe! Anyway, I'll let you read the story now…

**Random-laughter: **Aww thanks!! It's always cool to have new reviewers!! And thanks for even reviewing, there have been SOOO many hits on this fic, and hardly any one is reviewing, so thanks!! And that goes to all my other reviewers as well!!

Meaningless

Harry's heart was thumping again. Faster and faster it went; but this time, not from exhilaration.

Anger swelled up inside of him as he looked at Ron and Hermione, both smiling so much as they told him the news that they had destroyed a Horcrux. They had been talking to Harry for about ten minutes, and he felt like he was about to reach breaking point.

"It's amazing, isn't it Harry?" Hermione said cheerfully, "We're that much closer to getting him now!"

Harry jumped off his seat while pulling his wand out and pointing it to nothing in particular. A vase shattered into hundreds of pieces that flew across the room. Hermione let out a shriek and Ron ducked his head.

"Harry!" Hermione cried once the pieces had fallen to the floor.

"I don't care! I hope it hit you!" Harry shouted loudly.

"I don't understand…" Hermione said.

"What the hell do you mean, you don't understand?" Harry said, fuming. He started to pace the room quickly, circling them like prey. "It's simple! Why couldn't I have done it?"

"Done what, mate?" Ron tried to ask in a calm voice.

"Destroyed it! She said I could!" He yelled, pointing his wand at Hermione.

She fumbled in her pocket to get hers out, presumably to defend herself, but Ron stood up in front of her with his wand pointed at Harry.

"Mate, she said you _might_ be able to do it," Ron reasoned, "The thing was, it was too impractical."

"Getting me to my house? That is _my_ house where headquarters is, so I can get there easily if I wanted to. Just as easily as I could take it away from the Order!" Harry lowered his wand and started to pace again.

"Harry," Hermione said meekly, "I think you need to take a few hours to calm down…"

"Calm down?"

She nodded, "I think you're feeling You-know-who's thoughts again… You're just angry because of him… He's angry too, right?"

Harry stared at her incredulously. "Hermione, I can differentiate between my thoughts, and Voldemort's thoughts. And trust me, this is all my anger."

Hermione looked at him for a moment with a scared look on her face. "Ron, we'd better go…"

"What if he goes mad and kills Malfoy?" Ron attempted to joke.

But Harry didn't find it funny at all. "There are two other people right now that I'd much rather kill than him, at least he can make me laugh!" He said stonily, regretting that last part afterwards.

The two of them stared for a moment, and then walked quickly towards the door. Harry followed and saw them as they left the manor, but he didn't bother to say goodbye, he stalked up the stairs quickly and towards his room, where he slammed the door so hard it was like the house was going to crumble.

He paced around his room, kicking things as he went. It was all he could do not to get his wand back out and smash everything in sight.

Finally, he sat on his bed and buried his head in his hands. His scar still seared with pain and he began to think that Hermione was probably right. This anger was probably Voldemort's anger as well. But it didn't mean that the pain and hurt was his. Hot tears rolled down his cheeks and onto his shirt, and he made no effort to stop them.

And suddenly, there was one thing filling his mind, which made him cry even more.

All he wanted right now was to hold Ginny. Hug her, kiss his, have sex with her, anything. He just wanted to see her. She was the only one who didn't know about the Order's work, and what Harry had to do to kill Voldemort in the end. She would let him do anything in front of her, or even to her, just to calm down. No one else would do that.

Harry froze for a moment. A thought had occurred to him.

But that was cruel… Heartless…

Unless Harry let him know what he was doing… Put the idea to him… Surely he'd understand?

He stood up, wiped his face with his hand, which then ran through his hair.

He walked out of the door.

* * *

Draco tried not to worry about the noises he had heard earlier. That smashing and then lots of thumps somewhere along the corridor. Harry was ok. There was no need to worry. He could take care of himself.

However, once one thought of Harry left him, another arrived.

Harry's lips were so chapped and dry, but fantastic. And the feel of his hand on Draco's back. Draco was sure that Harry didn't know he had been doing it, but the way that his hand made his way down his back and had started to pull up his shirt was amazing. It turned Draco on beyond anything else. Even beyond the way that Pansy used to rub… Well, who cared about that bitch now?

Draco shuddered and cleared his throat as if to try and concentrate on the book he was reading. He held it up higher, so that the rest of the library was blocked out. So that he could only see the words of the book…

He was saved the trouble of trying to concentrate, however, as the door opened.

Harry's scared face looked around the large library, evidently looking for him. And when his eyes landed on Draco's relaxed figure, Draco couldn't help but notice a slight jolting movement in Harry's left hand.

"Harry," Draco said with a raised voice, as he was sitting a fair few feet from the door, "Come in."

Harry did so without a second thought, it seemed.

"Have Granger and…" Draco shut his eyes calmly for a moment before he opened them again and continued, "Are they gone?"

Harry smiled slightly. "Yes," He replied, sitting down on a chair next to Draco.

"I heard shouting," Draco stated, "And smashing."

"Yeah… My wand got a vase… Sorry…" Harry mumbled.

Draco just laughed, "I don't mind. I'm sure you had good reason."

Harry shook his head frustratedly, "They… lied to me."

"About what?" Draco asked.

"I can't…"

Draco's heart sunk. He wanted Harry to open up to him, but not just for the reason that he had to tell McGonagall about it anymore.

"They told me I could do something for the Order last time they were here," Harry continued. Draco smiled inside himself. "It's helping towards me killing Voldemort. But they did it without me…" He let out a harsh laugh. "They said… They it was too impractical for me to get to Grimmauld Place… Which is my house you know…"

Draco nodded. Harry was going to have an outburst any second… He could tell.

However, the next thing Harry did took him by surprise. He grabbed Draco's hand and leaned very close, so that their faces were about an inch apart. He then whispered, and his warm breath hit Draco's lips suddenly, sending him his first arousal.

"Draco…" Harry whispered, "Do you want me?"

Draco, unlike Harry, could keep his cool, and he smirked as he answered, "I want you more than anything, Potter."

Harry smirked back – Draco made a note that he was getting good at that, and it looked amazing – and began to speak.

"I want…"

He jumped back, letting go of Draco's hand so suddenly that it made Draco jump.

"You want what?" He asked.

Harry shook his head, "Sorry…"

"What for?"

Harry smiled, "I can't be like you. It's hard for me."

"It's hard for me too, I can assure you," Draco smirked.

Harry laughed, that booming laugh that turned Draco on in a mere second. He then shook his head again, "I can't believe I just laughed at that."

"I can," Draco said.

They stared at each other for a moment, before Harry started to talk again.

"You know I don't love you, don't you? I'm not gay," He said.

Draco's heart skipped a beat, and he had to work hard to stop himself from bursting out in tears then and there. But he nodded slowly nevertheless.

"And you know how much I miss Ginny…"

"I'm drawing the line there, Harry," Draco cut in, "Don't say another word about her."

Harry seemed to ignore him, "I hate myself for saying this, but I want you."

Draco's ears pricked up like a dog's. "What?" He asked incredulously.

"You make me feel…" Harry seemed to struggle to find a word, "I can laugh about anything with you… You calm me down. And I lo…"

"Say it," Draco demanded softly, moving towards Harry in his chair.

Harry shook his head. "I like your company…" He whispered.

"Liar," Draco smirked, "And you know it…"

Draco put his hand on Harry's leg and felt a surge of electricity run through him. Harry stiffened at the touch but Draco didn't move his hand back off.

"I'll tell you something…" Draco whispered in his ear, "I don't care if you don't want me, because I love you, and I'll do anything to have you."

He felt Harry's breathing get quicker on his neck, and shivered at the thought of it being quick elsewhere.

"I'll bet you haven't had sex in a long time, have you?" Draco said, "For you, of course. I expect you usually do it every night…"

It sickened him to think of Harry having sex with the Weaselette, but if it turned him on and made him want it…

"It calms me down…" Harry whispered.

Draco smirked, and his hand slid slowly up Harry's inner leg. Harry squirmed under the touch, but Draco didn't care. It wasn't like Harry had never had this done to him before, was it?

He could feel it now, and it seemed to be bigger and better than he had imagined it as he slid his hand up the length. Draco's own breathing suddenly started to get quick, and all he wanted to do was rip Harry's clothes off. But if he waited a little longer, Harry might do it to him first.

* * *

What was he waiting for? The stupid, thick git. Harry squirmed and writhed as Draco's hand ran along his length, pushing harder every time he went. He knew what Draco was doing, of course. It was a game. Who would be the first to give in? Not Harry… not him either.

Harry's eyes fell shut and his head almost lolled back of its own accord. She loved it when he did that, probably because it was then clear to her how much fun he was having.

They stayed like this for near on five minutes; Harry's head back, her stroking his hard cock. She really wasn't going to give in, this time, was she? But Ginny was very stubborn, just like Harry. He decided persuasion was in order.

Harry lowered his hand, still with his eyes closed, to put it on hers and move it inside his trousers.

He put his hand on hers and started to…

Harry opened his eyes quickly at the rough hand that he had put his own on top of.

Draco smirked at him in the chair next to him. It took a minute for the whole situation to sink into Harry's brain. But when it did, he was furious.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Harry shouted, jumping up and almost pushing Draco out of his chair.

"I beg your pardon?" Draco – Malfoy – replied incredulously.

"Are you mad?" Harry shouted again, striding towards the door of the room. "Ok, I want to be friends with you, but stop molestering me!"

"Harry, what are you talking about?" Malfoy said, getting up. "You let me do that for almost ten minutes, and now you're going crazy.

"Leave me alone Malfoy!" Harry went to open the door, but it was locked. He turned to see Malfoy with his wand pointing at it with a hardened expression on his face. "Open the door," Harry said quietly.

Malfoy shook his head, "You're all over the place tonight, what's wrong with you?" He asked calmly.

Harry pulled his wand out of his pocket swiftly and pointed it at Malfoy, who merely raised an eyebrow.

"You're going to curse me now?" Malfoy asked sarcastically. "After all this time you've lived here, you now want to curse me? All because I touched you… And you loved it…"

"I did not!" Harry yelled, but his hand was shaking now, his whole body was shaking at the thought of it. He wanted to see Ginny… He needed to get out of this house. His mind was playing tricks on him. And why did he even come to this room in search of Malfoy? Why didn't he just leave?

Malfoy smirked up at him from across the room. "Harry, you know you want it. Let me give it to you…"

"Let me out," Harry whispered.

Malfoy laughed, "No."

He did it before he even thought about it; his wand flicked and the word sounded in his head, but no where else, so Malfoy didn't see it coming until it had already been. He flew backwards across the library before landing with a screech on his back, hitting a shelf of books which all fell on top of him.

Harry stood there, unable to believe what he had just done, frozen to the spot.

Before he even saw Malfoy's face, or knew that he was ok, he heard the door click behind him, and it opened slowly. He looked at it for a moment, and then turned back around. Malfoy hadn't yet stood back up, and Harry couldn't see him.

"Malfoy?" Harry whispered into the room. He got no reply, and started to walk silently forwards to where Malfoy had fallen.

When he reached the pile of books, beneath which Malfoy lay, he bent down and began to throw them aside.

"Leave me, Potter," Malfoy's voice snapped suddenly. And even though it wasn't a nice comment, Harry felt slight relief flow through him; mostly in his chest.

"Draco…"

Malfoy shoved him away and sat up slowly. "Don't call me that now Potter!"

"I'm sorry… I didn't think…" Harry whispered.

"You obviously never do!"

Malfoy propped himself up against the half empty book shelf, and leaned his head back slightly, his eyes still shut. A trickle of red blood ran down his cheek. It was strange to see something of so much colour appear from someone so pale.

"Are you ok?" Harry asked after a few minutes.

"I will be…" Malfoy answered quietly.

Harry's erection had long since disappeared, but the sight of Draco's head tipped back like that only made Harry want to touch it.

"You know what, Harry?" Draco started, "I can only assume that Weasel and Granger did something to really piss you off tonight."

A smile spread across Harry's face, but only because Draco still had his eyes shut.

"I told you they did," He said, "I was frustrated." He paused for a moment, and then added, "In more ways than one…"

Draco's eyes suddenly opened and his head turned to face Harry. Then, completely unexpected, he smirked.

"You really are a sex addict aren't you, Potter?" He said. "I never would have thought it of you. That's why you came here, isn't it?"

Harry sighed, "I don't know why I came. I told myself it was for that, but… I don't know." Harry's words were completely true, his head was so messed up this evening, that he wouldn't have know the difference between and owl and a hippogriff.

"I don't mind if it's just for that…" Draco stated calmly.

"Draco, I…"

"I know; you don't love me," Draco interrupted, "But I want you, and if that's the only way I get you, then so be it."

Harry shook his head, his mind a bit clearer than half an hour ago when he had come into the library for meaningless sex. "I can't use you like that."

"Yes you can," Draco said, "You Griffindor's are too noble, you can't lie or use anyone. If we're living together, we both need to adjust to each others ways. How many times do you think I've used someone?"

"For sex?" Harry said sarcastically, but to his surprise, Draco smirked yet again.

Harry stared for a moment, and then his mind turned blankly to Pansy Parkinson, sixth year at Hogwarts. Draco would have needed to lower his stress levels that year.

The two of them sat for a long while in complete silence, both lost in their own thoughts. Harry's mind would not let him think of anything other than the tingling in his hand, or the blood still trickling down Draco's cheek.

Then, out of the blue, Draco started to laugh quietly to himself.

"What?" Harry asked, nonplussed.

"I'm just thinking how this would look to an outsider, who knew me as a Death Eater, and you as, well, the Chosen One," Draco laughed. "The two of us just sitting here calmly, but me bleeding in one place."

Harry, too, smiled and began to laugh. "You're a weird one, Draco Malfoy," He said as he went to stand up. On the way, his hand cupped Draco's face and his thumb swiftly wiped away the blood on his cheek. "I'm sorry," He whispered into Draco's ear, feeling all too comfortable with the situation. He kissed Draco's cut lightly and started to walk away. "See you in the morning."

And he left Draco there, probably recovering from shock, while he walked steadily back to his room, still feeling confused but, somehow, a lot better about the entire situation.

* * *

**A/N** Heyaloo!!! Thank you for reading, hope it was all ok… I got a bit stuck halfway through this chapter, maybe you noticed... Its kind of all over the place isnt it? Well, I hope you liked it anyways! 


	14. Interrupted, Again

**A/N** Thanks to reviewers:

**Random-laughter: **Yeah, poor Harry. But that's Voldemort playing with his mind isn't it. Well, it's not just that. I'm glad you're liking it though.

**Njferrell: **Hehe, I like Harry when he's being the big boss. You just wait a few more chapters…

**QuincePaste: **Hehe thanks, here's more!

Interrupted, Again

Draco walked swiftly down the corridors of Hogwarts once again. The evening was setting in, and every so often he would be blinded by the setting sunlight shining through a rare window.

He had been with McGonagall for an even longer period of time today, as a lot had happened since their last meeting. He had to tell her all about Harry's 'vision' that he saw just less than two weeks ago, as he had told none of the Order. He also had to tell her how upset he was about the fact that the Order did something they told him he could do, and about Harry's second vision since the last one. Harry's second sighting of the Dark Lord in his mind had worried Draco at first, but since it was a week ago, he thought nothing more of it. This time, Harry had seen the Dark Lord ordering people to find him. Harry had described how it was like they had already been looking for him for months, that was why Voldemort was so angry.

Another thing Draco passed on to McGonagall was the fact that Harry was feeling the Dark Lord's emotions again. Harry had realised, the day after he had attacked Draco, that the reason he was so messed up and angry that day was because the Dark Lord was as well.

McGonagall had written everything Draco said on parchment to replay it to the Order. And as Draco walked back through the corridors, he felt like he was the master of betrayal. Harry had finally started to open up to him, and he just told people all about it anyway. The only reason Harry told Draco in the first place was because he was the only one Harry thought he could trust.

Draco shook his head as he turned a corner and smacked right into someone who squealed.

"Sorry…" He mumbled before setting his eyes on the person shorter than him.

He wished he hadn't said sorry.

"Malfoy," The Weasel whispered. "What are you doing here again?"

"I'm glad you're so pleased to see me, Weasley," Draco said sarcastically, dusting himself off. "I have regular meetings with Professor McGonagall, is you must know."

"What about?" She asked.

"That would be none of your business now would it?" Draco replied.

"Are they about Harry?"

Draco was about to reply with some sort of snide comment, but an even better chance walked around the corner at that very moment.

"Gin what are you waiting fo…" Dean stopped dead in his tracks.

Draco smirked, but ignored the interruption. "Why do you care?" He sneered at her.

She looked at her feet and then back up again. "Because I think it's unfair to talk about anyone behind their back."

"But shagging someone else behind their back is ok, is it?" Draco fumed.

"I'll tell Harry what you're up to!" She snapped after ignoring Draco's previous comment.

"Then I'll tell him what you're up to. Both of you," He added.

Weasley paused for a moment, while Dean just stood there, looking as gormless as ever.

"Why didn't you tell him already?" She asked quietly.

"Because he's my…" What was the word for their current state? "Friend."

"Ha! That'll be the day!" The bitch laughed. She actually laughed! If only she knew about all the flirting and light touches he and Harry had given each other over the last two weeks; even if Harry still chose to deny it.

"I will tell him one day," Draco said, "And that day, you'll have no one left but yourself and the rest of the Weasels that you call family."

"Hello, I am here, you know," Dean finally piped up.

"Yes, Thomas, you are," Draco sneered back, "But if I tell Harry what you've been doing to his 'girlfriend' then you won't be here for much longer, trust me on that. He gets angry very easily these days."

"How do you know so much about him?" Weasley asked suspiciously.

That problem was easily rectified. Draco pointed to the fading mark on his face where he had been cut almost two weeks ago. "You think I did this?" He said.

"Well, good for him! You deserve a good beating, Malfoy, after all the pain you put him through!"

"Yes, and now I'm giving him a home and a place to hide from a man that would kill him before he even considered looking at him. Aren't I cruel?"

And with that, Draco walked off, knowing that any second the Weasel would start talking about how Draco had once 'worked' for that same man. But he didn't care about what she had to say. The fact was, Harry now trusted him, and that was all that mattered.

* * *

Harry stretched on the long sofa that he was laying on. He sprawled his arms out above his head and arched his back inwardly, yawning loudly. It was silly really, he hadn't done anything but lay on that sofa on his own all day, and he was still tired as the sun was only just setting.

He looked around the dark living room, examining the dim lights as his eyes swept over them. Every now and then he would look at his watch, worried about the fact that Draco had been gone for so many hours. Why he was worried, he had no idea. Well, he did, he just wouldn't admit it to himself. It made Harry almost sick to think of the amount of times Draco had touched him in the past two weeks… or even made him laugh. But, he couldn't help but love it at the same time. But, he wasn't gay. But, was what he was feeling being gay? Or was it just that he had been without sex for so long that he was seeing and feeling things that weren't there? And every time, no matter what, every time Draco walked into the same room as Harry, he spoke to him as if they were best friends – or even more.

Harry jolted and reached for his wand; there was a noise in the corridor.

The door to the living room opened, and Draco stood there, smiling. Harry's heart thumped a little faster.

"There's no need to get that out when you hear me come in the house," Draco said, walking towards a chair.

"It may not have been you," Harry stated.

"Who else would it have been? My father? Nope!" Draco said sarcastically, sitting down.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Where have you been, anyway? I've been worried."

"How sweet," Draco remarked, Harry smirked, "I've been at Hogwarts, like I said."

"For this long? What have you been doing?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why?"

"Probably for the same reason that you can't tell me what you're doing with the Order," Draco huffed slightly.

Harry leaned back grumpily, "You mean what the Order are doing without me."

"Harry," Draco leaned forwards and reached out his hand to cover Harry's, "It's their own fault. I'm sure whatever they're doing would be done a lot quicker with you. They just haven't realised it yet."

Harry slid his hand out from under Draco's, which moved away as he did so. "Did you see Ginny?" He asked, slightly edgily.

"Why do you care?" Draco snapped suddenly.

"Because she's my girlfriend!" Harry snapped back.

Draco hissed.

"I can't help it if I miss her!"

"You shouldn't miss her!"

"Oh and why's that?" Harry asked exasperatedly.

"Because she's a bitch!" Draco shouted. It shocked Harry to hear his voice raised this much.

"Don't talk about her like that!" Harry shouted, equalling their level of voices.

"Why shouldn't I? She is! Every Weasel is a nasty piece of work! I'm surprised you haven't figured that out yet!"

Harry pulled his wand from his pocket and pointed it at Draco, who was ready this week, pulling out his own just as quickly.

"Don't you dare shoot anything at me, Harry!" Draco shouted.

Harry barely heard him; he heard the other voice that had just entered the room.

"Harry!"

Harry looked across to the doorway and saw Ginny standing there, a terrified expression on her face. Hetty stood below her, trying to pull her back. She must have heard the shouting and run straight in.

"What are you doing?" She said quietly, "Put your wand away!"

He hadn't even realised that it was still pointing at Draco, and lowered it slowly. He was completely in shock, just to see Ginny standing there, when his heart was pounding so hard because he loved it when Draco got angry. And suddenly, he felt extremely two-faced.

"Well," Ginny said, trying to make a laugh, "Come and give me a hug!"

Harry stood still and whispered, "What are you doing here?"

"Aren't you pleased to see me?" She asked.

"You should be at Hogwarts," Harry replied, shaking his head.

"Oh fine! I'll just go back then, shall I?" She said, tears filling her eyes.

Now he felt even worse.

"Gin, I'm sorry!" He said quickly, finally running towards her, "I didn't mean it like that, of course I'm pleased to see you!"

"Harry…"

"Fuck off!" Harry yelled, turning for only a second to see Draco's eyes wide, and his expression just as shocked as Harry's was. "Come on, Gin."

He led her quickly from the room and up the stairs. Once they had reached the safety of Harry's room, he closed the door behind him and Ginny basically just pounced on him.

She kissed him, and he returned it with his own tongue sliding into her mouth. She wrapped her arms around him, he did the same. She started to walk somewhere, Harry followed. But then she started to lift his t-shirt up, and he pulled away quickly, almost taking Ginny's tongue with him.

"Ouch!" She yelped, slapping her hand over her mouth, "What was that for?!"

"Sorry…" Harry stuttered, "I just…" He just what? "Erm…"

"Harry? What's wrong?" She asked, walking towards him. She held his left hand when she reached him: Harry whipped his hand out of her grasp.

"I… Sorry… I just, don't really… want it, tonight…" He mumbled.

Ginny paused.

"I'm sorry?" She asked.

"I'm tired," He lied quickly.

He wasn't getting much time to think, but the time that he did have was filling his mind with thoughts of Draco – the stupid git – but he didn't really know what type of thoughts they were. All he knew was they were stopping him form having sex with Ginny.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Ginny asked quietly, "We can just sit and catch up then, if you like."

"I think you better go," Harry said. He had no idea where any of these words were coming from.

"What?" She asked thickly.

"Sorry… It's just…"

"Stop saying sorry!" She was shouting now. "I came all this way to see you, and you…"

"You apparated! It's not that far!" Harry yelled, surprising himself. Ginny gasped and stared at him like he was mad. "Please," He whispered, "Just go…"

Ginny bit her lower lip and shot an evil glare at him one last time before she left. And then Harry stood in his room, totally alone.

Minutes on minutes passed, and Harry finally sat down. He sighed deeply and shook his head. What had just happened? He had told Ginny to leave, that was what happened… And why? Because the thick git that was probably sitting downstairs right now, smirking to himself, wouldn't leave his head!

Harry sighed again. He loved Ginny with all his heart; he knew that much was true. And he also knew that unless he left the manor, he might loose her because of his stupidity. He was going to marry Ginny some day, because Harry Potter is not gay, and that is a fact.

He sat on his bed for fifteen more minutes, and then decided that the sooner he left the manor, the better. He needed to get Draco Malfoy out of his head and forget about him completely. This was the way to do it.

Slowly, Harry stood up and went to his old Hogwarts trunk. He opened it to find large amounts of rubbish that he wanted to keep at the bottom. Ignoring them, he pulled his wand from his pocket, flourished it towards the wardrobe (which opened) and started to pack the trunk with everything he owned.

Only ten minutes later, Harry was finished. He bent down and grabbed the handle of the trunk, lifting it up. He walked slowly to the door and looked around the room. Not many memories… Only ones that reminded him of Draco – Malfoy – which were ones he'd rather forget.

He left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

* * *

Harry stood at the door to the living room, and cleared his throat loudly.

"Oh, Harry," Draco turned to face him, looking pleased to see his face – as always. But then his eyes scanned Harry's clothes, which were mainly covered by his travelling cloak. "Are you going somewhere?" He asked, getting off his chair.

Harry almost choked for some reason. "I'm leaving…"

"I beg your pardon?" Draco said, walking towards him.

"I can't stay here any more," Harry muttered, turning around.

"Why? Where's the Weasel?" Draco hissed, following Harry towards the door.

"Don't start, Malfoy," Harry said, finding it extremely odd to say the word 'Malfoy' again.

He sped towards the front door and opened it, which let in a stream of white moonlight.

"You're not going anywhere if it's only because of her!" Draco said, attempting to shut the door, but Harry was halfway through it.

"I can do what I want!" Harry yelled suddenly. "No one can keep me here! Lupin was crazy to think that he would force me to live here for longer than this! I hate you!"

"My arse do you hate me, Potter!" Draco shouted back.

They were both outside now, Harry walking towards the deserted road. He ignored Draco's comment; he knew that Draco was right, but he wouldn't admit it!

"Harry, don't walk any further!" Draco called suddenly.

Harry stopped and turned to look at him.

"Please, can we go inside and talk about it?" Draco said pleadingly.

"There's nothing more I have to say," Harry replied, "I'm leaving because I love Ginny. But my relationship with her isn't going to work while I live here."

Draco scoffed slightly, "That's why you want to leave?"

"Yes," Harry said stonily, turning again towards the road.

"You're mad, Potter!"

Harry shook his head as he reached the edge of the front garden. Draco's voice had turned back to the one he used to use at Hogwarts, and Harry couldn't decide whether he liked it or not. But it didn't matter now.

He stepped onto the road, only to get a sudden yanking backwards by the arm.

"You fool, Harry!" Draco shouted. "That's the boundary to the wards, anyone could be watching!"

"I don't care! I'm leaving!" Harry shouted, pulling his arm from Draco's grip.

"Why?"

"Because I have to!"

Draco let out a wild growl as Harry stepped fully into the road. "She's fucking Dean Thomas!"

Harry stopped walking, still in the road. He then turned his head slowly, and whispered, "What?"

Draco gulped obviously, and then replied, "She's having an affair, Harry. With Dean Thomas. I've seen them at Hogwarts."

Harry paused for a few moments, and then walked slowly towards him. "You liar!" He shouted suddenly.

"I'm not lying!" Draco persisted. Harry's anger flew up in every direction, and all he wanted to do was make Draco stop talking. "I've seen them at it at Hogwarts, Harry…"

"Shut up…" Harry whispered.

"I'm sorry, but I had to tell you. She's cheating on you behind your back! You have to believe m…"

Harry lunged himself at Draco and pushed his lips against Draco's much softer ones. He had no idea what he was doing, or why, but before he knew it, his trunk had been dropped and Draco's hands were beneath his cloak, and they were walking quickly, but Harry had no idea in which direction.

It lasted only seconds, until Harry was basically ripped away from Draco, knocked over onto the floor, and heard a stifled scream come from Draco's mouth.

"Ah!" Harry felt himself being kicked repeatedly in the side, and finally opening his eyes, he saw at least a dozen Death Eaters, all with wands pointing at him.

* * *

**A/N** Oooh!! I do love torturing you with cliffy's don't I?! Hehe!!! 


	15. Sacrifice

**A/N** Sorry this chapter took a while to get on here, I've been really busy lately with drama, but I've done my exam now, so its time to write write write!!! Also, thanks to reviewers:

**Random-laughter: **Hehe, you can find out what happened now… And I'm sorry I took so long to update, I'll be quicker with chapter 16, as it's already written!

**Fufu.a.k.a.speechless: **Aww I'm glad you think my Harry is in character, I'm always worried that he's not a 'proper' Harry if you get me! And yes, he's being a bit silly isn't he… But don't worry, I'm sure he'll come round soon!

**Njferrell: **Well, I don't answer your question in the chapter, so I can tell you now: The Death Eaters have nothing to do with Ginny, they're just watching Malfoy's house, cos Voldemort wants to kill Malfoy too, remember? Well, something like that… But because of the wards on the manor, the Death Eaters can't get in so they wait until Harry goes beyond the wards. And you remember at the end of the last chapter, when they were kissing and walking, 'but Harry had no idea in which direction'? Yeah, they went beyond the wards. Lol, silly boys aren't they?!

**Zaraki.chan: **Hehe, well they have kissed before haven't they, but not quite like that… tehe! Glad you like it!

**QuincePaste: **Aww I'm sorry to keep you waiting lol! But thank you for holding on and being so patient; not long now I promise!

**HarryPotter's-angel: **Thank you! I love getting new reviewers! Thanks I'll update now hehe!

Sacrifice

"Harry!" Draco called – his voice sounded strained.

"Hello, Potter," A slimy voice spoke, "Were you having a good time? So sorry we interrupted; but the Dark Lord's followers never usually take a long time to intervene."

Harry had stopped being kicked, and was now being held extremely tightly by the force of a wand. He tried to struggle against it, but he could barely move. This was it… He was going to be taken to Voldemort, as was Draco, and it was all because he couldn't do what Draco had told him.

"Now, Potter," The voice spoke again. All Harry could see of the man were his broad legs beneath his cloak. "If you promise not to struggle, I'll release you."

He was being held so tightly that he couldn't even open his mouth, so he made a sort of 'yes' sound, and fell to the floor, free to move his arms to a more comfortable position.

"There we are," The Death Eater said, "But don't forget, that if you try to fight, there are ten more people here who would gladly see to it that you can't move."

Harry's face was to the floor, so he still couldn't see the Death Eater who kept talking, but if he even tired to roll over, he expected he'd get bound again.

"What have you done with Draco?" He said quickly into the ground.

"It's ok, your beloved is still here, silenced," The death eater answered.

It had only just occurred to Harry that all the Death Eaters must have seen him kiss Draco, but it didn't even embarrass him right now.

"Let him go," Harry said, "He hasn't done anything to you."

"Oh, but he has, Potter. He has kept you safe for nearly three months. The Dark Lord is angry with him, very angry."

Harry's arm snaked slowly down towards his pocket where his wand was, but he had no idea how he would fight off eleven death eaters when he got it… If he got it…

"So, are you going to take me anywhere, or just talk to me all night? I don't mind either way," Harry said sarcastically.

"You shouldn't be so cocky, Potter," Harry's heart jumped to his throat as Snape started to talk. "Always like your father…"

"You should only count yourself lucky that I'm unable to move right now, _Snivellus_!" Harry hissed loudly. And then it hit him. He knew how to get out of this, and it was painstakingly easy.

Harry closed his eyes as some of the Death Eaters around him sniggered at his comment, which they obviously thought had no effect whatsoever. Silently, wordlessly, Harry summoned his wand into his hand. He then took three deep breaths while praying to his parents that this would work…

Suddenly, Harry flipped onto his back, pointed his wand at two thirds of the Death Eaters and shouted, "Levicorpus!"

The Death Eaters flew into the air, dropping their wands. And before the last few could even realise what had happened, Harry turned to them as well, "Levicorpus!" He yelled loudly.

He knew the spell didn't last very long at all, so he leapt towards Malfoy, grabbed his hand, shut his eyes and clicked his fingers.

* * *

They landed on the floor of the kitchen in Grimmauld Place with a thud, basically on top of one another. Harry heard a scream and lots of chairs scraping the old wooden floor.

"Harry!"

Harry heard Mrs Weasley's cry and finally looked up at her, letting go of Draco's shaking hand.

"Harry, dear!" She said again, "Dra-Mal-Draco!" She stuttered.

Draco was breathing quickly, and Harry thought that he had probably never been in a near death situation before – having never been friends with Harry Potter.

"Mrs Weasley…" Harry said, standing up, "I'm sorry, we had an accident."

It was only when he stood up that he saw Remus, Mr Weasley, Fred and George as well.

"What happened, Harry?" Mr Weasley asked.

"Um… Death Eaters… Outside the manor…" He mumbled, concentrating more on helping Draco to stand up.

"What were you doing outside?" Lupin said sharply.

Harry was about to say 'I was going to leave', but then decided against that choice of words. "Getting fresh air. I didn't know where the boundary was to the wards!" He added quickly.

"So what actually happened?" Fred asked quickly.

"I don't know… They just kind of, swarmed in on us…"

"He was with you?" George asked incredulously, indicating Draco, who now stood next to Harry, having gathered himself back up.

"Yes," Harry answered.

"Then why didn't he say, 'this is the edge, don't go over it'?" Fred scrutinized.

"Look," Harry said loudly, "He wasn't in on it, if that's what you're thinking! He wouldn't do that!"

Silence lingered for a minute in the room, as everyone narrowed their eyes in Draco's general direction, until Lupin spoke.

"Well, as long as you're both ok, that's the main thing," He smiled slightly as he looked at Draco again, "You _are_ ok, Draco?" He asked.

Draco nodded quickly. "Yes," He said, "It was all just a bit of a shock…"

Fred and George sniggered.

"Fine. Well, I suppose the two of you will like to stay here for the night?" Mrs Weasley said. "Well, Harry dear, you can have your old room. Draco, I'll show you to a spare room, if you just follow me…"

Mrs Weasley led Draco out of the room without another word.

"So, Harry," Lupin said, indicating Mrs Weasley's vacated chair. "How did you get out of this one?"

Harry took the chair with thanks and replied, "Just lucky again. I used one of…" He stopped, realising exactly what he had done. "I used one of Snape's spells against him!" He smiled.

Lupin tutted and shook his head, "Well, like I said, as long as you're ok. It wouldn't do to have Harry Potter shipped off to see You-Know-Who."

Harry smiled slightly and nodded his head. Now that he was here, he found that there was so much he wanted to say to Lupin, or more to shout at him. But he felt like now wasn't the right time.

After a few minutes of surprising silence, Lupin spoke up once more.

"We'll have to separate you and Draco now," He thought out loud.

Harry thought his heart may stop. "Why?"

"Because if Voldemort thinks you're together, when you're really not, it could help. If he sends death Eaters after Draco, then all of them will be away from you!" He sounded amazed at his idea, but Harry thought otherwise.

"What did you say?" He asked, but didn't wait for an answer. "Are you saying that you want to use Draco as a decoy? He could be caught. He could be killed! You want to sacrifice him for me?"

Harry's voice was a yell before it had even began, and sudden rage flowed through him.

"No, Harry, I'm only thinking of what's best for you!" Lupin argued.

"You say that all the time! But you have no idea what you're talking about!" Harry shouted, standing up.

"Steady on, Harry…" Mr Weasley said quietly.

"Sorry!" Harry shouted once more, heading towards the door. "But if you think that I'll let you use _anyone_ for my 'safety', then you're wrong! So wrong!"

And with that he stormed from the room, slamming the door behind him. He met Mrs Weasley on the way up the stairs, but didn't stop to talk, or even to be fed. He strode straight into his room, not caring about the fact that he didn't even know where Ron and Hermione were, let alone the fact that he wanted to know everything about the Order. The Order that was a mess…

Harry sighed as he flopped onto his old bed. It was slightly dusty, but he didn't really care about that either at the moment. He continued to think about the Order of the Phoenix… did _anyone_ have any idea what they were doing anymore? Harry doubted it. First, they threw Harry away to his worst enemy's house. Then they tell him that he can destroy the Horcrux they found, and then they do it without him… And now they were probably all downstairs planning how best to convince Draco to sacrifice himself for Harry…

Harry shuddered. Draco…

He had just remembered what happened earlier that night, before the Death Eaters arrived. His eyes closed for a moment as he felt Draco's hands underneath his cloak again, feeling around everywhere frantically, as if it were his last day on earth…

Harry couldn't be separated from him…

He stood up and left the room.

* * *

Harry knocked on the fourth door that he came across, after the first three were obviously unoccupied. He heard Draco's soft voice say, 'Come in', from the inside, and entered.

"Hi…" Harry said, walking into the room.

"Are you ok?" Draco asked.

"Of course I am, are you?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Draco answered, but going slightly pink in the face all the same, "It was just all a bit of a shock. Nothing quite like that has happened to me before."

"Yeah, I'm sorry…" Harry muttered, sitting next to Draco on his bed.

"You were amazing though, Harry," Draco said after a moment.

Harry chuckled, "I never thought that sentence would come out of your mouth!"

"Well, times change," Draco stated, placing his hand on top of Harry's.

Harry smiled at him, and then gathered his thoughts. He breathed in deeply a few minutes later and began to talk.

"They want to separate us…" He said quietly.

"What?" Draco asked.

"They think that by separating us, I'll have more chance of staying alive. They want to use you, basically," Harry explained.

"They can't!" Draco exclaimed. "I don't care if they want to use me at all, but I can't leave you!"

Harry nodded, "I know… You won't leave me, don't worry."

From the corner of his eye, Harry saw Draco smirk, and electricity sparked through him. "I thought you wanted to get away from me, Potter."

"Well, I did. Until you told me about Ginny…"

"So you believe me then? I thought that kiss was you trying to stop me from lying," Draco smirked.

"I don't know what that kiss was…" Harry thought out loud. "Anger, I suppose. And partly what you said. And better than I imagined. But all a blur…"

Draco turned to face him, smiling now, not smirking. "Would you like to remember what it was like? Perhaps this time it won't end in a near death experience."

Harry merely smiled back, and leaned in towards Draco. It was ridiculous, but he felt rather nervous; like it was his first ever kiss.

His eyes began to fall shut as Draco's arm wrapped around his back, and his did the same. And this time, when their lips met, Harry took in everything he could about them. They were soft, almost juicy, and when they opened, Draco's tongue pushed into Harry's mouth with a force not too strong, but not under-eager either.

Their tongues slid over each other for a while, and then Harry noticed that one arm had been taken away from his back, and was making its way to his cock. And, this time, Harry knew full well that it wasn't Ginny who was making him almost twitch as he was being rubbed.

"Harry!"

A voice from outside the room jolted both Harry and Draco from their world, and Harry had to work hard to stop himself from screaming out in a rage.

"Harry! Are you in there?"

It was Hermione. Of all the annoying people it had to be her!

Harry stood up and re-adjusted himself so that it wasn't completely obvious that he was turned on. Draco – he noticed – had to do the same.

Harry smiled as he said, "Yes, what is it?"

The door opened and Hermione jumped forwards into Harry's arms. She squeezed him tightly around the neck, but Harry's arms only hung limply around her.

"Are you ok? We just heard what happened!" She said, signalling to Ron, who Harry had only just noticed standing in the doorway.

"_We're_ fine, thank you," He said, pointing to Draco as well as himself.

"Oh, sorry Malfoy…" Hermione muttered quickly. "But I can't believe it! Death Eaters surrounding your house!"

Harry shrugged as he sat back down – at the other end of the bed to Draco. "Yeah well, these things happen."

"You sound as if you face Death Eaters every day!" Draco exclaimed suddenly.

Harry bit back a laugh, "Well, it's not like I've never seen them before, is it?"

"Well," Ron cut in, "As long as you're ok, mate."

Harry stared at him, "And why would either of you care? I hate that phrase anyway."

"Of course we care, Harry!" Hermione interjected.

"How could you? You didn't seem to care enough to let me destroy the Horcrux!"

Harry bit his lip as Ron and Hermione's eyes widened, and Draco gasped loudly.

Harry thought quickly… Surely Draco didn't know what Horcruxes were… But how would he avoid the question when it came about? And why did Draco gasp?

"What?" He asked quietly, turning to Draco.

"N-nothing…" Draco said even quieter, "I just… Just saw that bruise on your side…"

Harry had only just realised that he had stood up and raised his arm in pointing at Ron and Hermione, which lifted his t-shirt to show a dark bruise forming, from where the Death Eaters had kicked him.

"Oh," He said, shoving the comment aside. "Oh well."

"Um… A-anyway…" Ron stuttered.

"I think Lupin's idea of splitting you two up now is very practical," Hermione changed the subject.

"What?"

"Well, it means you'll be safer, Harry…"

"Why does no one care about Draco?" Harry shouted. "Voldemort is after him too, you know!"

"Only because he was hiding you, but now he won't be will he? So surely you-know-who won't care!" Ron said.

Harry stared again at his best friends' naivety.

"Ron, Voldemort doesn't just forget about people that help me! He's probably after you and Hermione as well," Harry said.

An eerie silence followed Harry's words, where Ron and Hermione seemed to move slightly closer to each other, and Harry could feel his heart beating like a drum in his chest. He chanced a glance over at Draco, who had a most disturbed look on his face. Then suddenly, Harry had the urge to leave the room and go to bed.

"Harry," Hermione said meekly, "I think we need to talk in private."

Harry looked around the room just to avoid eye contact, but then decided it was a good excuse to leave. He could then just shout at them and storm to his room to bed.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Draco," He said, and turning so that Ron and Hermione couldn't see, he gave a gentle smile that hopefully sent the right message.

Draco nodded in response and he, Ron and Hermione left the room. Once they were in the hallway, Hermione whispered instantly, "You shouldn't have said that in front of him, Harry! What if he knows?"

"Knows what?" Harry asked dumbly, walking towards his room.

"You know perfectly well what!" She snapped.

"Hermione," Harry stopped walking, "He didn't even listen to what I said. And who cares if he does know what they are?"

"It's not the fact that he knows what Horcruxes are, it's the fact that he might know that you-know-who has some!"

"So what if he does know?"

"He'll run off and tell you-know-who," Ron interrupted.

"Exactly," Hermione finished.

Harry glared at the two of them, standing there like they knew everything about everyone, and they ruled the world. He was in the right mind to ask them if they didn't have the same idea as Voldemort in being the best.

"Do you really think that he'd do that?" Harry whispered. "I've told you both before that I think he's good; he's on our side for fuck sake! I've said before that he wouldn't have had me in his house for three months and not taken me to Voldemort if he had wanted to! How dare you both? He is not a Death Eater!"

"He was…"

"Things change!"

"Harry, you can't go round trusting everyone you meet, otherwise you never learn to fend for yourself!" Hermione argued.

Harry pulled out his wand, furious that Hermione could even think he didn't know how to look after himself after all he'd been through, but Ron jumped in front of her.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you?" He yelled. "You're mad! Go and get some sleep!"

Harry almost dropped his wand from shock. Never before in his life had Ron ever spoken to him like that. He was so taken aback that he did what Ron told him, and walked away from them both, into his room, and onto his bed.

He stayed awake for only a few minutes after that, before falling into a disturbed sleep.

* * *

**A/N** Hope you liked!! I know there was loads of speech in this chapter, but hopefully that's not a bad thing. 


	16. The Plan

**A/N** Thanks to reviewers:

**HarryPotter's-angel: **Thanks! Well, I wouldn't kill them off would I! Hehe!!

**Fufu.a.k.a.speechless: **Yes, I find Hermione a really well-meaning, yet completely irritating character! She drives me insane half the time! Especially in my stories lol!

**Random-laughter: **Yeah, they've taken a long time to actually act like that haven't they? I mean first Draco was just being seductive and Harry just in plain denial! But now… Well… I'll let you read on!

The Plan

"_No! Draco!"_

"_I'm sorry, Harry! I never meant this to happen!"_

"_You lied to me!"_

"_I can't change the past!"_

"_You could have told the truth! No! Don't let go!"_

"_I have to go…"_

"_No!"_

"_Harry… Don't let go of me! I need you! I love you! Help! Please, Harry! I know you still love me! Please!"_

Harry's eyes opened quickly. He was sweating, and could still feel Draco's fingertips clinging onto his from his dream before the Death Eaters snatched him away.

He breathed heavily for a few minutes, and then gasped when he looked around the room. He was in Grimmauld Place; he had forgotten. He looked at his watch that was on the bedside table from the night before and saw that it was almost lunchtime. Then, he heard raised voices from downstairs.

Harry leapt out of bed and ran down the stairs.

"You're leaving tonight, Malfoy, and that's the end of it!" Harry heard Ron's voice shouting from outside the closed kitchen door. He rolled his eyes before walking closer quietly.

"Ron! There's no need to shout!" Mr Weasley told his son sternly.

"Well he needs to be told!" Ron replied, "He can't stay here for a minute longer, otherwise Harry will be dead as soon as he looks out of the window."

"You know that's not the case," Lupin piped up.

"Look, I don't mind leaving, Weasley," Draco's sharp voice said loudly, making Harry shudder. "I just need to talk to Harry about a few things first."

"Write to him, just leave!" Ron yelled again.

"I thought my ears were burning," Harry said calmly as he strode into the room, making everyone jump.

He noticed that the tips of Ron's ears were bright red, and Hermione's cheeks were flushed.

"How much did you hear?" Ron asked, looking at his feet.

"Would it make a difference?"

You could cut the silence in the room with a knife, and Harry was quite surprised that he could create this sort of atmosphere.

"Draco will stay for as long as I let him," He said defiantly, "Because, as I've reminded you two before," He signalled to Ron and Hermione, "This is my house. And I'll decide who gets to live here."

From the corner of his eye, Harry could see Draco finding it difficult not to smirk. Everyone else in the room seemed to be fascinated by their own feet, so Harry chanced a glance over at him and smiled when he caught his eye. Draco winked back, which he had never done before, and Harry seemed to be overcome with a desire to touch him.

"So, Mrs Weasley," Harry said suddenly, "What's for lunch? It smells great!"

He smiled at the short woman who seemed to whimper slightly, "Oh, just a roast dinner, dear. Nothing special."

"Sounds great!" Harry replied kindly, walking back towards the door. "I'll be back down later then."

And with that, he left the room, feeling quite good about himself. He had had the final word. That was apparent. And while he was in the shower, he couldn't help feeling that people understood him slightly better.

* * *

Harry walked across the corridor and back to his bedroom from the bathroom, with a towel wrapped around his bottom half. As he opened the door, however, he got the shock of his life.

Draco was sitting on his bed, minding his own business apparently, twirling his fingers around one another.

"What the hell are you doing?" Harry shrieked, closing the door quickly behind him.

"Waiting for you," Draco replied easily.

"If anyone saw you in here…"

"With you naked?" Draco butted in, with a smirk on his face. "What on earth would they think? Not that I just came here to talk to you, surely!"

"Shut up!" Harry hissed. "Go away and let me get dressed!"

Harry saw Draco flick his wand and he suddenly felt warm, dry, and covered up. He looked down at his clean clothes that were on his body.

"How did you do that?" He asked.

Draco shrugged, "But I know how to get clothes off as well," He said, winking yet again.

Harry's eyes narrowed, but a confused smile stayed on his face nonetheless.

"What did you want then?" He asked, sitting down beside Draco, who turned his head away slightly.

"I need to… Ask you something, Harry," He said quietly.

Harry cocked his head to the side, "What is it?"

"You know… You know last night," Draco stuttered, "You mentioned… Horcruxes…"

Harry's heart jumped into his throat. Draco did know what they were, didn't he?

"I know what they are…" He said, as if he had heard Harry's thoughts. "And I know who's got some…"

Harry was stunned beyond belief. He was sure that the two of them couldn't be talking about the same thing.

"Are you sure…" He started to ask, but Draco jumped in.

"Harry, I may not have been a Death Eater, but my father was. And a most respectable one at that."

"Are you saying that you know about Voldemort's Horcruxes?" Harry asked, just to make doubly sure.

"Yes," Draco answered. "And I know what a few of them are as well."

Harry took a sharp intake of breath, but let Draco go on.

"I'd completely forgotten about them until you said the word last night, and then it hit me. Everything made sense. The thing that Ron and Hermione destroyed without you, it was a Horcrux wasn't it?" Harry nodded. "Harry, my father was one of the Dark Lord's main men until the fiasco with the prophecy; The Dark Lord trusted him with his life: literally."

Harry gasped again, feeling much like a girl, but he didn't care right now. "Your dad had a Horcrux?" He asked wildly.

"Yes, my father had one. But my father's gone. And everything in his possession was left to me," Draco answered.

"The-The Horcrux is at your house?" Harry said slowly.

Draco nodded, even slower than Harry's speech. "Why do you think a mere wine cellar was kept to well guarded?"

Harry's heart was beating faster than it had for a long while, and his breathing was quick. "Are you trying to tell me, that there's a part of Voldemort's soul in your wine cellar and you never even thought to mention it?!"

"Harry! I hardly remembered something like that!" Draco exclaimed. "I had other things on my mind over these past three months! Trying to make Harry Potter realise that you're in love with him is harder than it seems! And anyway, my father brought that thing home years and years ago! How was I supposed to remember?"

"What?" Harry asked blankly. For he was sure that Draco must have gotten a sentence wrong.

"I said it was years ago, I just for…"

"No! Before that!" Harry cut in.

"I said trying to make you realise that I'm in love with you is difficult…" Draco murmured, obviously understanding what Harry was getting at.

"You're in love with me?" Harry whispered.

"Well, yes, I've told you that before, haven't I?" Draco answered.

"If you have, I didn't listen."

Draco did not reply, and the two of them sat there for what felt like hours to Harry, just staring at each other in the eyes. Draco's eyes really were beautiful… Harry had neglected to notice that before.

But what he couldn't decide was what else he was feeling at that moment.

Slowly, his head began o move towards Draco's, as his hand moved of its own accord to place itself on Draco's leg, which shook slightly at the touch.

"I do love you, Harry," Draco's warm breath swept Harry's lips as they got closer to each other, and Harry shivered again.

But, again, the moment was lost as the door flew open quickly. Harry jumped up so fast that he almost fell back down, staring at the door.

"Dinner is… Harry, are you ok?" Hermione asked quickly staring at him.

"Yes, why?" He said breathily.

"You're just very pale," She answered wearily.

"Well no, I'm fine," Harry said, getting his strength back. "But I'm probably pale because you made me jump! Knock on my door next time, ok?"

Hermione opened her mouth, then shut it, and then finally said, "Ok, sorry. But dinner is ready." And she left the room.

Harry sighed and turned back to face Draco, but once he had turned Draco was already standing so close to him that he almost fell over again. Draco grabbed him around the middle and whispered in his ear, "I'm getting rather sick of this, aren't you?" Harry smirked although Draco couldn't see. "I've been waiting for a long time to use that clothes spell on you, Harry; I best be able to actually do it next time."

He too, left the room quickly. Harry stood in a daze. He knew Draco's words were not a threat, but they still sunk into Harry quite deeply. 'Next time'. If there was a next time…

* * *

"What I don't understand is why your dad was stupid enough to tell you exactly what the cup was, anyway!" Harry said later that day.

"Well, father always had to be the best, and important," Draco replied, "So he thought he'd tell me something that would make me idolize him. I suppose he never guessed I'd be friends with Harry Potter someday. Then again, no one could ever have guessed that."

Harry laughed as he sat back down on a chair. It had been about six hours since Harry had found out about the Horcrux that Draco 'owned', and since that time, the two of them had formulated a (rather amusing) plan.

They had decided, together, not to tell anyone from the Order about Hufflepuff's cup, which imprisoned another seventh of Voldemort's soul. Then, tomorrow, they would go back to the manor, retrieve the Horcrux, and stay there for as long as it took them to discover how to destroy it. When they had destroyed it, Harry planned to go back to Gimmauld Place and show them all what he had done. He and Draco saw this as a chance to make the Order realise that Harry should be allowed to help, and that Draco shouldn't be considered evil, since he wasn't. And that Draco should be allowed to join the Order.

"So, are you still sure that you want to leave tomorrow?" Draco asked.

"Draco, if I could, I'd leave tonight," Harry replied.

"Well then why don't we?"

"You know why. There's an Order meeting tonight, which they've said I'm allowed to go to," Harry explained again.

"I know, but I hate it here, its so hot and stuffy, not to mention dirty!" Draco moaned.

Harry smiled, "Yes, well Draco, but my house elf is extremely old and grouchy, he'd never clean this place for me. And if you're hot, just take your jumper off."

Draco paused, "No," He said.

"Why?" Harry laughed a little.

"Because… I'll get cold," Draco said, "My body temperature is always up and down all over the place; I'm fine like this."

Harry rolled his eyes and shrugged. "Ok then, suit yourself. I better go anyway; don't want this meeting to start without me!"

He stood up and walked towards the door.

"Don't I get a goodbye kiss?" Draco called after him, still sprawled over his bed.

Harry looked t him from the corner of his eyes and licked his lips. "No," He said quietly.

Draco made a pathetic moaning sound, "Why not?"

"Because otherwise, I won't want to stop," Harry smirked and left the room.

* * *

"Do you understand now, Harry? All we want is for you to understand what we're doing."

He shook his head exasperatedly, "Yes, I understand what you're saying, but you could have at least told me before you did it!"

"We're sorry, Harry, really we are!"

Harry looked around at all the table. Over a dozen faces stared apologetically at him, and he couldn't help but roll his eyes and nod his head slowly.

Various members of the Order had just given excuses for not keeping Harry up to date with their work, and Ron and Hermione had muttered many other excuses for not telling him why they destroyed the locket Horcrux without him. Things like, 'it was too dangerous', 'impractical' and 'difficult' came up many times.

"Good!" Lupin said loudly. "So, next item of business; where we're going to station the Malfoy boy. A few of us have decided…"

"You're not stationing him anywhere," Harry cut in, "I thought I told you that."

Many faces looked at him again.

Lupin looked back, with a slight trace of fear in his eye. "Yes, Harry, you did tell us that. But you're not running the Order, are you?"

"I'll kick you out!" Harry threatened.

"We'll come back in!" Somebody shouted.

"I'll put wards up!" Harry yelled. A silence ran through the room again before Harry continued. "Look, I don't want to fight with any of you, and I do appreciate that you're just looking out for me. But I've faced Voldemort four, maybe five times now, and I'm still alive. You don't need to send _anyone_ away to mislead him. And even if you do, he'll still know where I am. I don't think many of you understand how Voldemort works. He doesn't use Death Eaters to track me. He uses my mind. I think he knew I was at Draco's since the very day I moved in. He just couldn't get to me there."

Another eerie silence followed Harry's words. He wasn't sure what that meant; hopefully it was a good sign…

"So what do you propose to do with Draco?" Lupin said amidst the silence.

Harry took a deep breath, "Let him join the Order."

"No!" Many people shouted.

"Just because his father was a Death Eater doesn't mean he is! Or ever was!" Harry argued.

"There's no way! He may not be a Death Eater now, but it's in his blood," One woman said. "If he knew what we're getting up to, it would be at the back of his mind all the time that he'd be rewarded for telling You-know-who! He wouldn't have to pay for his father crimes anymore!"

"You can take the boy from Slytherin, Harry," Tonks – who had red hair today – said, "But you can't take the Slytherin from the boy."

"That's ridiculous!" Harry fought, "I've lived with him for nearly three months. He's given me food, a place to stay when none of you wanted me, and he's kept me sane."

"The answer is no, Harry," Lupin said quietly.

Harry stood up, knocking over his chair, "Who are you to run this meeting anyway? McGonagall's in charge of the Order! Where is she?"

"She couldn't get out of Hogwarts tonight," Lupin answered, "This meeting was called especially for you."

"Well then it's over! I don't want to hear another word!" Harry kicked his chair out of the way and stormed out of the room, ignoring the protests behind him.

He stomped up the stairs in a rage and went straight to Draco's room, walking in quickly, making Draco jump.

"Harry!" Draco said, clearly startled. "Are you ok?"

"No, we're leaving tonight," Harry said as an order, pacing the room.

"Oh… Did something happen?"

Harry turned to him and gave him a look.

The two didn't have anything to pack, since they didn't take anything to Grimmauld Place, so five minutes later, they were in the hall, about to walk out of the front door, when Hermione came rushing out from the kitchen.

"Harry, stop!" She shouted quickly. "You can't possibly be thinking of leaving?!"

"Why? Does it look like I'm going for a walk to see the Death Eaters with my Death Eater friend?" Harry asked sarcastically.

"Oh Harry! He's not even your friend!" Hermione yelled.

"He is!" Harry retorted, adding, "And he's beginning to be a better one than you!"

Hermione gasped and took a step backwards, just as Ron entered the room. Ron shook his head slowly as he took Hermione around the waist as she began to cry.

"You're spending too much time with him, mate," He said quietly, indicating Draco.

"And whose fault is that?" Harry said quickly, "None of this would be happening if you…" He was cut off.

"If _you_ weren't in a prophecy," Ron said forcefully.

"W-what?" Harry stuttered.

"If you weren't in a prophecy mate, our lives would be normal. You'd have a job by now, your parents would be alive, me and Hermione would be spending more time making wedding plans, rather than trailing around the country for you, Lupin and Tonks would be married, they'd have a baby probably. We wouldn't be here right now."

Harry stared at his best friend. He had spent far too much time with Hermione recently, that much was obvious. But his words had cut into Harry deeply, and a single tear dropped from behind his glasses and onto his cheek.

"That's not my fault…" He whispered.

"No one's saying it is, Harry," Lupin said from the doorway to the kitchen. He too was holding his partner by the waist; Tonks had a saddened look on her face.

"Do you all hate me that much?" Harry whispered again, a second tear falling down his cheek.

"Harry…"

Draco's voice behind him made him jump slightly, he'd forgotten he was there.

"Let's go," He whispered.

Harry jerked his head slightly towards him, a sign that could tell Draco he had heard him.

"I'll get out of your way then…" He said slowly to the various members of the Order now standing behind Ron and Hermione.

"Harry, you're not…" Hermione started, but Harry shook his head forcefully – more to get rid of the two tear drops than anything.

"I'll see you soon," He said, and he turned his back to them, facing Draco, who took a hold of his wrist and clicked his fingers.

Only seconds later, Harry had to stop his knees from buckling and keep himself standing in the hall of Malfoy Manor. He tugged his arm away from Draco's hand as soon as they hit the ground, and walked away towards the stairs.

"Harry," Draco said into the dim light.

"I think I'll just go to bed, thanks," Harry cut in absent-mindedly.

And with the final word, Harry walked up the stairs and into his bedroom in the Manor. Even though it wasn't his own room, as such, if felt much more like home to Harry than Grimmauld Place had done for the past twenty-four hours.

* * *

**A/N** Hope you like!! Thanks for reading! 


	17. Lullaby

**A/N** Thanks to reviewers:

**Fufu.a.k.a.speechless: **I know, I love the thing about Dumbledore hehe! You know there will be double the amount of gay Dumbledore fics on here now! And yes, poor Draco, Ron is mean…

**Njferrell: **Hehe, I love the way that ypu're so against the Order in my story. Yeah, I don't know why they turned out like this: To make Harry more isolated I think.

**Opy: **Hehe thanks, I love new reviewers!

**Random-laughter: **Thank you! I do love Harry… He's very good at handling some things isn't he!

Lullaby

'_Close your eyes, get some sleep,_

_It's too late now, to change anything, but it's alright;_

_Get some sleep._

_It so dark outside, _

_So close your eyes and feel world turn round;_

_If you're not lost, _

_I guess that makes you found.'_

Harry tossed and turned in his bed, but he couldn't sleep. It was only after fifteen minutes of trying to get to sleep did he realise that it wasn't actually that late. It was about half past ten, and Harry usually went to sleep at around midnight. He sighed as he listened to all the thoughts whirring around in his mind, why couldn't they just stop?

A knock on his door startled him after a little while, and then it opened, letting in a crack of bright light from the corridor beyond it.

"Harry?" Draco whispered so quietly that Harry could hardly hear him.

"Yes?" Harry answered tentatively.

"Did I wake you?"

"No, is something wrong?" Harry asked, moving to retrieve his wand and get out of bed.

He could hear the smile in Draco's voice as he answered, "No, everything's fine. Well, actually, I came up because someone is at the door for you. I'm not sure who it is. Hetty answered it, but she's trying not to let the person in, we don't have visitors after ten pm unless they're already here," Draco explained.

"Oh," Harry said, rubbing his eyes, "Well I'll go down and get rid of them."

"You don't have to," Draco said.

"It's probably just Hermione, come to shout at me some more," Harry joked as he walked over to the door.

He heard a slight intake of breath as he drew nearer to the light, and realised that he was only wearing shorts, since he had been in bed.

"Everything ok, Draco?" He asked cheekily.

"Brilliant," Draco replied, following Harry out of the room.

* * *

"The Malfoy Manor does not permit visitors after ten! Please go away!" 

Harry chuckled as he heard Hetty's squeaky voice shout at the 'visitor', but he stopped as soon as he reached the bottom of the stairs and saw a red-haired girl standing there.

"Oh, Harry!" Ginny said exasperatedly as she saw him approaching, "Please tell her to let me in!"

Harry turned his head backwards to look at Draco, whose expression was unreadable.

"No," He said sternly, turning back, "I don't want you here."

"What? Harry!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Please leave!" Hetty called upwards to Ginny.

But Ginny ignored her.

"Harry, what's wrong?" She called.

"Go back to Hogwarts, Ginny!" Harry shouted, starting to ascend the stairs again.

"Harry!"

"Go away, Ginny!"

But Ginny, apparently, was having none of it. She completely pushed Hetty out of the way and strode towards Harry.

"Don't treat my elf like that!" Draco shouted at her.

"Like you care!" Ginny shouted back.

"Ginny!" Harry said, as he stopped walking.

"What's wrong, Harry? Please tell me, maybe I can help?" Ginny said, trying to hug him.

"You've done enough!" He said sickly as he back away.

Finally, Harry got satisfaction as Ginny's eyes widened for just a second, and she realised that Draco had told Harry about her cheating on him.

"W-what do you mean?" She stumbled across her words carelessly.

"You know what I mean," Harry said disgustedly, trying to turn away again.

"No, I have no idea…" She said slowly.

"Well then forget it, just go back to Hogwarts," Harry said, shrugging her hand off his arm. "I'm sure Dean is missing you."

Ginny paused, and then seemed to breathe out quickly. "What?"

"You can stuff the act; Draco's seen you two together at Hogwarts!" Harry began to yell.

Ginny shot a death stare over at Draco, who was smirking in the dark corner of the hall.

"We can work it out!" Ginny cried.

"And have a three way relationship? I don't think so!"

Ginny let out a loud sound, much like a growl and shouted quickly, "Just because he's fucking gay! I bet he's just trying to split us up! He wants you for himself!"

"Don't be so pathetic Ginny!" Harry shouted, starting to push her down the stairs.

"I'm not! He's a liar!"

Harry got her to the door, opened it and said, "I don't care what you do now, but don't come back here. Oh, and if you get the time, I'd like the engagement ring I gave you back. That or the money for it."

And he slammed the door in her face.

The sound of the door slamming echoed slightly around the hall, and covered up Harry's rather loud sigh. But when the silence entered, he turned to walk up the stairs quickly.

"I have to say Harry…"

"Please, Draco, don't," Harry cut him off.

"Why?"

"I just want to be alone, please."

* * *

Harry ran his hand through his ever messy hair and let out an unexpected sob. He wiped the two tears away and shook his head as he threw the picture of Ginny on the floor. '_How melodramatic' _a voice said in the back of his head. He shook his head again. But then, it was true. After all, Harry was still quite young, and Ginny was just one person in the world. 

But Ron and Hermione were two others. Just like Remus, McGonagall, Mr and Mrs Weasley, Fred and George were six others. Not to mention the rest of the entire Order. He'd done a stupid thing, apparating out of Grimmauld Place that evening. He'd probably lost all who cared for him. And then he goes and throws Ginny out onto the street. She could have been captured by Death Eaters that were still waiting outside for all he knew. But then again, because of her, the Death Eaters probably now knew for certain that Harry was back in here. How thick could she get?

And as for the Order members? Did they even care at all? Sure, they said they cared, but for whose satisfaction? Not their own, Harry betted. Did they not understand at all that Harry was, despite how much he hated to say it, the Chosen One? They could never defeat Voldemort without him! But it seemed that they were against him too. Just like the rest of the world. That cruel world that took away his parents, Sirius, Dumbledore…

Harry knew that Sirius would be on his side right now, and that he'd be thinking just what his dad would have thought in the same situation. He knew that his mother would stand behind him with her hand on his shoulder, no matter what. And Dumbledore… Dumbledore would show him all the places to find the Horcruxes, and how to destroy them. But none of those people were here now; and it was too late to change any of that.

Harry was on his own. He had no one to love. And no one to love him.

He turned in his bed to find a more comfortable position, but none came, and he heard a creak outside his bedroom door.

Harry opened his eyes. Seconds passed and then another creak told him that Draco was walking away.

'I do love you, Harry…'

He remembered the way that Draco had told him that, and it was more meaningful than any time Ginny had ever said it. The look in his eyes were soft, warm, and caring. Perhaps there was someone left who loved Harry after all.

Harry found himself getting out of his bed. He didn't know where he was planning on going, but his legs carried him to the door as if they had a mind of their own. And then they walked him quickly towards the door of Draco's room.

Harry stared at it. How had it come to this? He didn't want to go in, but his arm lifted itself without any control from Harry, and his knuckles hit the door sharply.

"Hello?" Draco's voice said from the inside quickly. "Who's there?"

Harry opened the door slowly and found himself looking into a pitch black room; darker than his had been.

"It's me," He whispered.

"Harry," Draco said, with surprise in his voice. "Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, I just…" He stuttered, feeling tears well his eyes up. _'Don't cry'_, he thought quickly to himself. "I…"

"Harry, are you crying?" Draco asked quickly. Harry had no idea whereabouts in the room Draco was, as it was too dark, and he was still standing at the door.

"No," Harry answered with difficulty.

"Harry…"

Suddenly, Draco was in front of him. He took his arms and pulled him into the room, closing the door behind him. Then his arms were wrapped around Harry's bare torso, Draco's hands pushing Harry closer to him from his back. Draco's arms were bare too.

"What's happened?" Draco whispered.

"Nothing…" Harry said back, still fighting tears.

"Something must have, you're crying."

"No I'm not," Harry answered stubbornly.

"It's ok to cry, Harry," Draco said kindly, "You cried all the time when you first came here."

"Not since then; I was too soft back then."

"Harry," Draco said definitely, "What's wrong?"

Harry crumpled inside. Draco's hands on his shoulders seemed to make him melt, and hot tears poured from his eyes for the first time in months. Sure, he had slipped tears out occasionally, but he hadn't cried like this for a long time.

Draco walked him somewhere, but Harry's eyes were too full of tears, and the room was still too dark for him to see where. When Draco pulled him down, however, he realised he was now sitting on a bed.

"I'm sorry…" Harry mumbled quietly between tears.

"What for? It's ok!" Draco hushed.

Minutes later, Harry's tears subsided a little, and he began to talk, not a lot, and he didn't make the words leave his mouth, but they did.

"Why is everyone against me all of a sudden?" He asked rhetorically. "Why does no one want to help? They all want to do it for themselves. Why does no one love me anymore?"

To Harry's great surprise, Draco laughed slightly. Harry looked at him.

"That wasn't very Gryffindorish of you!" He chortled.

"What?"

"You! 'Why does no one love me?' Because sometimes, Harry, you do get people who dislike you. And you just have to deal with it. It's not like the whole world is against you is it? I know that there are thousands of people out there that would want to help you if they knew what you were doing. I know I do. And I'm not against you, and I don't not love you either."

Harry smiled weakly, "That was a double negative," He stated.

"What?" Draco asked, obviously perplexed by the phrase.

"That you don't not love me. It actually means that you do love me, and either you were trying to not say it, or make me think about it," Harry explained.

"Well, either way, it worked didn't it?" Draco said, "I can't see you, but I'm sure you're smiling because of what I said."

"This conversation is getting very deep," Harry smiled again, properly this time.

"Isn't that what you want? To be cheered up by conversation?"

"There are other ways." It slipped out before Harry could stop it, and the next thing he knew, Draco's hand was on his leg.

"I never thought I'd see any of this from you, Draco," Harry said quietly as the hand began to run up and down his thigh.

"Any of what?" Draco answered, seemingly in a daze.

"Cheekiness, kindness, sadness; everything I've seen over the past few months," Harry answered. "I always thought you were only stubborn and malicious, but there's so much more to you."

"There's more to you, too. I always thought you were just arrogant and cocky, but you're sweet and gentle – sometimes quite an ass, when you throw me across the room, but I'll get over that."

Harry laughed. There was silence for a few minutes as Draco's hand still slid up and down Harry's leg. But then, the hand came off Harry's shorts, and went up slowly underneath them, on his bare skin.

Harry jolted. "Tell me again, Draco," He breathed.

"Tell you what?"

"That you don't not love me," He whispered.

Draco answered immediately, as if to make Harry completely sure that he was being honest, as if he didn't need to ask why. "I do love you, Harry."

Harry's body relaxed slightly, and he moved towards the sound of Draco's voice.

"Are you going to tell me back?" Draco whispered after a moment.

"Tell you what?" Harry asked absent-mindedly, not really listening. He was concentrating on the movement of his own hand on Draco's soft, silky back. He had never felt Draco's bare skin before; he didn't even know what Draco looked like topless.

"That you love me too," Draco stated. His voice sounded set on the point, and unwavering.

Harry's hand stopped drawing circles on Draco's back, and his focused his mind on the same point.

"You know I can't," He replied.

"Why?"

"Because I…" Harry stuttered, was it heartless to tell Draco this? "I'm not in love with you." Draco didn't reply, and Harry still couldn't see him very well, especially as he wasn't wearing his glasses; all he could see was a faint and blurry outline of a body sitting up. "But that doesn't mean to say I don't need you, or want you."

"I beg your pardon, Harry?" Draco said, and Harry could hear the smirk back in his voice. "What did you say? I couldn't quite hear…"

"I said I want you…" Harry mumbled, suddenly feeling extremely nervous.

"Well, it's taken me a long time, but I've finally gotten you to admit that, at least," Draco said.

Harry smiled, but then suddenly felt soft lips on his. His mouth opened quickly, and Draco's tongue slid inside and started to brush against everything it could. Then, Draco's hand on his shoulder pushed Harry back, so that he was laid down on the bed. Draco basically laid on top of him, were it not for the left arm that was holding most of his weight up.

Harry didn't care how much he weighed, and he didn't even care how wrong this was anymore; he was upset, tired, angry, and he wanted someone to love him.

He started to breathe faster Draco's right hand slipped underneath his shorts again. And slowly, very slowly, Harry's left arm moved towards Draco's cock as well. When he touched it, Draco almost collapsed on top of him, and Harry felt a rush of excitement, but he managed to hold himself up with his left arm.

Harry smiled maliciously to himself, and his right arm moved towards Draco's left. His hand snaked up Draco's arm, ready to make it cave and Draco to fall. But Harry felt something, and stopped.

"What's that?" He whispered, pulling his head away from Draco's.

Draco made an incoherent noise, probably trying to tell Harry to forget it, but he couldn't. There was something sort of, bumpy, in Draco's skin. Like there was something tattooed there.

Then it hit him.

Harry may have well have thrown Draco off of him as he stood up and grabbed hold of Draco's wand on the table. He gave the wand a little flick, and the lights in the room blinded his eyes for a moment.

When he opened them again, he saw Draco now sitting on the bed, bent double, covering his left arm.

"Show me," Harry whispered quietly.

"Harry, it's not what it…" Draco started, but Harry cut him off with almost a scream.

"Show me!" He yelled.

Draco scared, a terrified look in his eyes, then straightened his back very slowly.

There, on Draco's forearm, was the large tattoo of a skull, with a snake for a tongue.

Harry stared at it and almost dropped the wand he still pointed towards Draco. Tears welled up in his eyes, and the thing that surprised him most, was the fact that he wasn't upset because the mark was there, but the fact that he wished above everything else that it wasn't there.

"You lied to me," He said quietly, a tear escaping and falling down his cheek.

"No…" Draco whispered.

"Yes; you told me you weren't," He cried.

"I didn't want… It's not…" Draco stuttered and then leapt off the bed and ran towards Harry.

"Get off me!" Harry shouted, throwing Draco back.

"Harry please! You have to hear me out!" Draco begged.

"No! Because I know what you're going to say!" Harry yelled. "You didn't want to be a Death Eater! It was against your free will that they branded you with that sick mark! But I don't care about that, Draco! It's the way you lied to me!"

"I'm sorry…"

"Shut up," Harry said, calmer now. "I'm Harry Potter, and to think that I was going to… I trusted…"

Harry turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" Draco asked.

"Away from you," Harry said back, and he left the room.

* * *

**A/N** Hope you liked this chapter. The lyrics at the top are Newton Faulkner's song, Lullaby. He's British I think, and a new artist, so some of you might not have heard of him. I love that song though. Supposed to signify Harry's feelings a bit? Hope it makes sense! Thanks for reading. 


	18. The Escape

**A/N** Thanks to reviewers:

**Fufu.a.k.a.speechless: **I know, bless him…

**Njferrell:** Lol, that's a good theory, but I'm afraid Harry isn't going to the Chamber, to many bad memories. That's where he saved Ginny remember?! Lol! but I like the idea of getting a new house, I'll think about that!

The Escape

Harry sighed obviously and slammed the lid of his trunk down, which made Hermione jump.

"But where are you going to go?" She asked. "It's not safe!"

"I don't care Hermione!" Harry shouted. "I'd rather be somewhere that's not safe where all of you can't find me, than somewhere I'm cooped up with all of you nagging me all the time!"

Harry started to walk towards the door, but Hermione stood right in his way. "Harry, you just can't leave, it's absurd!"

"Shut up, Hermione, I don't care what you think, can't you understand that?"

Hermione scowled at him. "Your parents would be so disappointed in you."

Harry laughed, "No they wouldn't! Especially not my dad; he'd be proud because I'm using common sense!"

"Your mum wouldn't be happy!"

"What the hell do you know?" Harry snapped. "You know nothing about my parents, don't bring them into this!"

"Harry…"

"Oh what now?" Harry said as he turned to see Draco at the doorway.

"I was wondering what all the shouting was about," Draco said distractedly. "Are you going somewhere?" He added, looking at Harry's trunk.

Harry sighed again. Yes, he was going somewhere if it wasn't completely obvious to the human eye. He had laid awake for a long time in bed last night after coming from Draco's room. For the first half hour, he cried some more, cursing himself afterwards. And then he decided, with great difficulty, to leave Malfoy Manor. He had no idea where he was going to go, because he certainly didn't want to go back to Grimmauld Place with everyone from the Order looking down on him. He had considered throwing them out; after all, it was his house. But he came to the conclusion that the Order were just there to do work for the good, just not for Harry in particular, so he couldn't leave them with no Headquarters.

In the end, when Harry finally fell asleep, he was at the conclusion that he couldn't stay at the manor for a moment more than he really needed to. He couldn't stand to be with a lying traitor like Dra – Malfoy.

"He's leaving," Hermione said tetchily. "Do you have something to do with this?"

Draco shook his head slowly, but Harry interrupted.

"He's a Death Eater," He said, looking into Draco's eyes which were filled with some sort of pitiful sorrow. To Harry's dismay, when he saw them, he felt a peculiar thumping in his chest.

"Well, we always knew that!" Hermione hissed in Draco's direction.

"I'm not!" Draco protested.

"Oh don't be ridiculous!" Hermione said. "Once a Death Eater, always a Death Eater. Your allegiance is assigned to one man now, whether he wants to kill you or not.

"Anyway Harry, how did you find out?" She asked.

"I saw his mark," Harry said as if it was common knowledge, but he regretted doing so afterwards.

"How?" Hermione asked.

"Um…" What was Harry's answer? They were about to have gay sex when he felt the imprint on Draco's arm? As if! And Draco never wore shirts with short sleeves. Harry was stuck.

"He ripped my shirt while about to start fighting me," Draco said after a moment of silence.

Harry whipped his head across to look at him, but he was staring intently at his feet.

"Oh, well no change there then!" Hermione tried a laugh. "What were you fighting about?"

"Ginny," Harry answered quickly.

"What?"

"Yeah, Malfoy was telling me about her affair with Dean Thomas," Harry lied. He saw Draco flinch at the use of his last name, for Harry hadn't used it for a long while.

"Ridiculous!" Hermione almost yelled.

"I saw her at it, Granger!" Draco spat. Harry's throat clenched slightly as he saw the old Draco Malfoy from Hogwarts return. "She's a little whore, Harry doesn't deserve her anyway!"

"Don't you dare talk about my best friend like that!"

"What's a filthy mudblood like you going to do to me?" Draco jeered.

Harry's wand somehow appeared from his pocket and red sparks flew out from the tip the moment it reached his hand.

Hermione squealed and Draco jumped a bit; they both stared at him.

"Will the two of you shut up and let me – argh!" Harry fell to the floor and grabbed his scar which burned sharply. A rush of excited pleasure ran through him, but he couldn't express it for the pain he was in; and then an image formed in his mind like it was happening right in front of him.

Rufus Scrimgeour lay dead on the ground of what was evidently the ministry of magic, and a roaring laughter echoed around the vast hall.

"_Now, Dawlish," _A snakelike voice hissed, _"Go to the department of magical security, and see to it that Malfoy Manor's wards are undone."_

"Argh!" Harry screamed again.

"Harry!" Hermione yelled, shaking him by the shoulders.

Suddenly, the pain in his head eased off, but his scar still prickled. He opened his eyes and removed his hand from his forehead, which was covered in sweat.

"Harry! What is it? What's happened?" Hermione asked frantically.

"They've taken over the ministry…" Harry said shakily. "Scrimgeour's dead."

Hermione gasped loudly and sprung back to her feet. She ran out of the room, leaving Draco staring, shell-shocked, down at Harry.

Harry worked hard to keep his breathing normal, and then remembered the rest of his vision.

"We need to leave…" He said quickly and he pulled himself up.

"What? We?" Draco repeated, trying to help him, but Harry shook him off.

"They're taking the wards off of your house; the Death Eaters will get in sooner than you think."

He picked up his wand and started towards the door as quickly as he could as he still wobbled unevenly.

"You need to rest…" Draco mumbled.

"Don't you get it?" Harry yelled, "They'll be here any minute! Take me to the Horcrux! You can't back down on that now, even if you are a Death Eater!"

He pointed his wand at Draco, and to his surprise, Draco did not reach for his as well, he merely started a quick walk to and out of the door, down the stairs and to the cellar door; Harry kept his wand pointed at him all the way.

Draco opened the cellar door and ran down the steps. Harry followed in close pursuit until they reached the corner furthest away from the door, where there was a tiny table, with a dusty cup sat upon it.

"Take it!" Draco said loudly.

Harry looked wearily from the cup, to Draco, and back again.

"You pick it up, then give it to me," Harry said as an order.

Draco rolled his eyes and then took the cup quickly, passing it to Harry afterwards.

"Trust me now?" Draco spat.

"Never," Harry replied as they began to run towards the door, although as he said it, a nerve in the back of his head told him it was a lie.

"Stop!" Harry said quietly as they reached the steps. "They're up there…" He whispered.

He could hear people, probably about a dozen Death Eaters in the hall of the manor. They were trapped. If only he had his invisibility cloak in his pocket! He used to keep it in his pocket no matter what!

"The back way, onto the Quidditch Pitch!" Draco whispered.

Harry felt a slight relief and grabbed Draco's arm to start to run, but he didn't move.

"I'll go up there and distract them from you," Draco said.

"Don't be stupid! We're sticking together!" Harry protested, tugging on his arm again. But then he froze. He heard the icy voice up above them, calling his name.

"I know you're in here, Harry," Voldemort called, "I won't let you escape my wrath again; the wards are now fixed so that you and Draco cannot flee."

Harry stared into Draco's eyes, which now stared back at him with hard determination; something he had never seen come from those grey eyes.

"You can't take that up there with him there," He pointed at the Horcrux that Harry still held tightly. "You need to take it away."

Harry stared some more. "Do you want to go with them?" He asked quietly.

"No!" Draco snapped. "You have to trust me, Harry; I'm not a Death Eater anymore. I'd give my life for yours."

"Harry Potter, come out, come out. You're not going to make me look for you," Voldemort jeered from above.

Harry shook his head and he let go of Draco's arm and turned to go the opposite way. "Draco I…"

"Just go!" Draco said quickly.

Harry's breathing was quick, because he knew he had to go before Voldemort started to search.

He grabbed Draco's hand once more, and then pushed the sleeve of his left arm up, so that he could see the Dark Mark on Draco's arm. Draco tired to push it back down, but stopped when Harry bent over and licked it from bottom to top.

He looked into Draco's eyes once more and couldn't tell what he saw this time.

"You can tell him I did that before I slipped through his fingers," He whispered quickly.

Draco smirked and turned to go up the steps. Harry did not let go of his hand for one more moment, however.

"I'll be back for you, I promise."

And he turned and ran quickly down the cellar to where he could see another set of steps going upwards towards the Quidditch pitch. Harry only hoped that Death Eaters were not swarming that, too.

He wrenched open the door and saw nothing but grass and three poles on either side of the field.

He ran quicker to get to the edge of the field as fast as he could. Finally, he reached it and swirled on the spot so fast that he still span when he landed again in Grimmauld Place.

* * *

For a few seconds, it was like no one had noticed Harry's arrival as people bustled past his quickly. But soon, the commotion stopped and someone shouted "Harry Potter!" loudly, so that within a matter of seconds Mrs Weasley ran into the hall.

"Harry, dear! What on earth…" She started, but Harry cut her off.

"The wards are broken at Malfoy Manor," He said quickly. "Death Eaters and Voldemort got in, and me and Draco couldn't get out."

"So how is that you're here?" Remus asked loudly from the door to the kitchen – a concerned look on his face.

"I ran to the edge of the wards, apparated here," He said breathlessly.

"Well come and sit down," Mr Weasley said kindly, also from the kitchen.

"No!" Harry yelled, not caring how rude it sounded, "We've got to go back for Draco!"

Lupin was about say something, but Hermione appeared at the top of the first slight of stairs. "Harry!" She shouted. "Is that a…"

"Yes, put it somewhere safe but just let me go back!" He answered frantically.

Hermione ran down and took it from him, then running off in a different direction.

"Harry," Lupin said calmly, "Draco won't be there when you get back. They will have taken him already."

"There's no harm in trying! Come on!"

Harry almost cried out in anger. Why was no one cooperating? Draco's life was in danger, and here were dozens of people, just watching him, not doing a thing.

"There's no point, Harry," Lupin repeated.

Harry opened his mouth to shout in protest, but a quiet, yet deep, voice said, "I'll go with you mate."

Harry turned in the direction of the voice, to see Ron standing watching him, a tiny trace of a smile on his face.

"Ron, I…"

"Now's not really the time, is it mate?" Ron chanced at a laugh as Hermione entered the hall again.

"Not the time for what?" She asked.

"We're going back to Malfoy's to help him," Ron said pointedly.

"Oh… Ok then," Hermione said, walking up to the two of them.

"I don't think you should…" Lupin started, but the three had already held hands, and Harry apparated them back to Malfoy Manor without another word.

* * *

"I can't hear anything…"

"They're gone…"

"No, they might just be planning to ambush us…"

Harry, Ron and Hermione huddled together at the bottom of the steps where Harry had licked the Dark Mark on Draco's arm not fifteen minutes ago. It was completely silent, and a breeze rushed down on them from above.

"They can't have left in fifteen minutes…" Harry muttered quietly.

"There's only one way to find out," Hermione said quietly.

Harry nodded slowly and started to walk up the steps in front of them, with Ron in the middle and Hermione at the back. At the top, Harry got a shock to see that the hall was, in fact, empty. He stared around the room with his wand raised, but nothing jumped out at him – apart from the fact that there was fresh blood on the wall opposite.

"Oh my…" Hermione started when he saw the mess.

"What could have done that?" Ron said, "There's no curses that actually cause blood, are there?"

"You're forgetting Sectumsempra," Hermione said disgustedly. "I'll bet any money that Snape was here."

Harry didn't say anything, but merely turned to go up the stairs to check Draco's bedroom, though he highly doubted that he would be there.

"Harry, where are you… Ah!" Hermione squealed in mid sentence.

Both Harry and Ron pointed there wands in every direction, but saw no one but each other.

"Look," Hermione then said calmly, pointing towards another corner of the hall, where there seemed to be a trembling pile of rags. But Harry knew instantly, like Hermione, that the pile was Hetty, Draco's house elf.

Harry looked at Hermione, who looked far beyond the point of worry, and started to walk slowly towards Hetty.

"Hetty…" He whispered as he knelt down beside the terrified elf, "Are you ok?"

"H-Harry Potter, s-sir…" She stumbled.

"Are you hurt?" He asked.

"N-no, sir…" She answered. "M-master Malfoy…"

She began to cry, which Harry took as a bad sign. House elves only cried when they had failed their masters' orders, or their master had been hurt.

"What happened?" Harry asked softly, looking back to see Ron holding Hermione closely, for she looked just as terrified as Hetty.

Hetty took a moment to answer as she blew her long nose on her pillow case clothing. "Death Eaters, sir, barged into the Manor. Hetty couldn't stop them, there were too many. Some ran up the stairs, some stayed in here."

"What happened when Draco came out of the cellar?" Harry asked quietly.

"H-he-who-must-not-be-named conjured ropes around Master Malfoy. They got tighter, and Master Malfoy fell to the floor. Hetty tired to release them, Harry Potter, but another person threw Hetty back! He-who-must-not-be-named shouted at Master Malfoy, demanded to know where Harry Potter was…"

"What did Draco say?"

"Master Malfoy told him that you had already left, that morning, sir, because you thought Master Malfoy was on the dark side."

Harry didn't know what to feel at this news: relief, he supposed, that Draco actually was telling him the truth when he said he was on Harry's side, and also contentment at the thought of Voldemort being angry because he had just missed Harry again.

"What happened then, Hetty?" Harry asked kindly.

"He-who-must-not-be-named looked at a tall man with shiny black hair, and that man stepped forward. He… he…" Hetty tried not to cry, but Harry didn't push her for information, because Harry could basically see Snape cursing Draco with Sectumsempra at the front of his mind. "He performed a curse on Master Malfoy!" Hetty choked out. "Blood spilt from his chest and face. Then it stopped, and the dark lord said, 'Draco will be of good use to me', and then, they all left one by one, following He-who-must-not-be-named away."

Tears ran down Harry's cheeks as he asked, "And they took Draco with them?"

Hetty nodded and Harry seemed to loose feeling in his legs. He fell completely to the floor and looked away from everyone, away from time and the world; all he could see was Draco being taken, bloodied and bound, by Snape or Voldemort, probably to his death.

"Thank you, Hetty," Hermione said quietly, kneeling down beside Harry as she did so. "Come on, its no use staying here."

"Yeah, mate," Ron said, "I'll get your trunk."

Ron started to walk towards the stairs, but Hermione flicked her wand and the trunk zoomed down towards them.

"Oh," Ron said dumbly.

"Hetty, would you like to come with us?" Hermione asked as she stood up.

"Hetty lives to serve the Malfoy family," Hetty squeaked, seemingly a lot calmer now.

"Yes, but your Master Draco is gone, you can come with us and you'll be safe," Hermione said.

"Hetty can serve Harry Potter until Master Draco's return?" Hetty asked hopefully.

Harry nodded his response and Ron then helped him up.

"There's nothing you could have done, mate," Ron said as they walked to the edge of the road out the front of the manor.

"I could have stayed with him," Harry said quietly.

"But then you'd be gone too, Harry," Hermione said, taking his hand.

"Yeah, I'd never have thought that Malfoy would do something so decent," Ron said.

"He said he'd sacrifice himself for me before I left," Harry said aloud, but more to himself than anyone else.

"Wow," Ron said in amazement, "He really isn't bad after all, is he?"

"No," Hermione answered. "And God hope he's ok, because he saved your life, Harry; in essence, he saved us all."

* * *

**A/N** Hope you liked it. I think it was very sad. 


	19. Stooped Low

**A/N** Hey, I know I'm writing really quickly at the moment, its because I'm on a school holiday, so a lot of time on my hands. I'll slow down soon though, promise! Thanks to reviewers:

**LoveYouLoveMe: **Hehe thanks, love new reviewers too! Thanks!!!

**Fufu.a.k.a.speechless: **Hehe, that was like, triple cringe!! Nah, I love soppy phrases! It's good!

**HarryPotter's-angel: **Aww thankies, I'm glad you said it was well written. I think this one is too, but you can be the judge of that!

**Njferrell: **And thank YOU for reviewing!

Stooped Low

Harry stooped low in the long grass as the sun set over hill, his eyes firmly fixed on the dark, crooked building before him. Hermione did the same thing one hundred metres away from him, as did Ron, Lupin, Fred and George; all circled around the building.

It had been precisely one month since Draco was taken by Voldemort. In that time, Harry, Ron and Hermione had destroyed the cup Horcrux, found the lost locket Horcrux, and found another object that they considered to be the unknown Horcrux. This was a small pendant that had once belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw, one of the four founders of Hogwarts. All the while whilst this was happening, not a day went by when Harry didn't think of Draco. No one even knew if he was alive, but Harry still had one last speck of hope in his heart, if nowhere else.

This little ray of light was the building that stood before them, apparently abandoned; Voldemort's 'hiding' place. For whilst Harry, Ron and Hermione had been finding Horcruxes, the rest of the Order had been either tracking down Voldemort or trying to restore order to the ministry. Neither had gone very well until six days ago, when Fred and George has seen a tall, blonde, muscular man striding through Diagon Ally, as if he owned it, and followed him to the place where the six of them now sat, waiting for someone to appear out of the darkness of the building.

Suddenly, Harry felt warmth in the pocket of his trousers, and took out a golden coin with a message on the back. Written there in George's handwriting was _I see someone!_

Harry felt a rush of excitement as he looked towards George's position, and he too saw a shimmer of light coming from just outside the house. He took out his extendable ears and threw one end as far as he could. He heard voices from far away at his end of the tube.

"I quite agree that you're _saying_ you understand me, Dolohov," Voldemort's cold voice hissed, "But you've lied to me before now, haven't you?"

"I do not deny it, master," Dolohov replied, sounding uneasy, "But this time, I understand you completely."

"Well, if anyone finds out this is where we are now staying, you'd better hope that I can't find you afterwards," Voldemort said.

Harry watched the two silhouettes carefully and saw Voldemort walk back inside. Suddenly, Harry jumped another figure came round the corner of the house. Dressed completely in black, with shining hair, there was no mistaking Snape's voice as he then spoke.

"The Dark Lord is unimpressed with you, Dolohov," Snape said as they began to walk.

"Only the same amount as he is with you, Severus," Dolohov replied. "His anger at your helping the boy is severe."

Harry's heart gave a lurch into his throat. Draco was alive.

"I am keeping Draco alive to serve the Dark Lord, not offend him."

"He does not see it that way, Snape. I think you should see to it that the boy is killed, quickly."

"If he should be killed, and killed he shall be, soon enough, I'm sure that the Dark Lord would want to do the honours," Snape hissed.

Harry ducked lower into the ground, making sure his invisibility cloak was wrapped tightly around him as the two Death Eaters walked towards him.

"I don't understand why you're keeping him alive anyway, Snape," Dolohov continued, "What use can he be? The boy can't even kill an old man!"

"But he can lure a young man to him, can't he, Dolohov?" Snape sneered.

"Who, Harry Potter?" Dolohov said incredulously. "Why would Harry Potter want to save a Malfoy? They hate each other."

Harry's heart sank a little; he felt as if he knew what Snape would say next.

"Ah, but Dolohov," Snape answered, "You weren't there the night we ambushed them and they both got away. You didn't see what they were doing." Harry's heart thumped faster, he did not want everyone to hear this; he wasn't gay! He – He only kissed Draco to… shut him up…

His inner mind was lying to him again. None of that was true at all.

"They were awfully close to each other, I'm not sure if they were fighting, or something else," Snape concluded.

Harry felt slight relief; at least Snape didn't know that seconds before their arrival, Harry was wishing to rip the clothes off of Draco that night.

Harry felt the coin burn again. He looked at it and saw Hermione's writing. _Let's go, at least we know this is the place._

Harry sent a message back to all the coins saying it was ok to leave, and he apparated back to Grimmauld Place.

He landed in the hall of his house to a shriek from Mrs Weasley.

"Oh, Harry dear!" She said quickly, "What's happened? Is everything ok?"

But then, there were five more pops and the rest appeared in view.

"We just decided to leave," He answered.

"What's for dinner, mum?" Ron asked almost as soon as he landed, making most people laugh.

"Oh, Ron!" She said exasperatedly.

"What? I'm hungry!"

Harry slipped away up the stairs while the rest of them laughed again and bustled into the kitchen; he didn't want to see anyone that had just been with him, listening to that conversation.

He went and sat on his bed quietly, heart still beating quite fast.

As he sat there, new thoughts revolved in his head, regarding Draco and his current state.

Draco was alive. Not dead. Harry's heart filled with joy at the phrase. But for how much longer would Draco be alive? Surely Voldemort would get bored of Snape's excuses to keep him alive and just kill Draco? Voldemort was not a kind being.

Harry got the sudden urge to go back there himself and just run in to save Draco. To hug him, kiss him… Tell him he loved him.

Harry's hand twitched and a warm feeling ran through it. He squeezed it with the other hand as he arched his back, feeling Draco's hands stroke it softly.

A tear rolled down his cheek as he heard footsteps in the corridor outside. He quickly wiped it away just before Ron burst into the room.

"Oh, blimey Harry!" Ron exclaimed. "We thought for a minute you'd gone back alone! It's ok! I've found him!" He yelled backwards down the stairs.

Harry smiled weakly, trying to hide the sadness in his face as he did so. Ron sat down next to him on his bed and stared at the wall.

"So," He said after a minute. "What's the next plan then? How do we get in?"

Harry smiled serenely. "Thanks, Ron."

"What for?" Ron asked.

"Helping me after all I said to you, and Hermione," Harry answered.

"That was ages ago, mate, its forgotten now."

"Yeah, but…"

"No buts, forget it," Ron dismissed. "I still say you spent too much time with him, though."

"With who?" Harry asked.

"Malfoy, you plank!"

Harry gulped. Where was this conversation going to lead? "Oh?" He said curiously.

"Yeah…" Ron said, adding, "Its just what Snape said just now…"

Harry shook. "We were fighting."

"What?"

"Me and Draco," Harry said, trying not to talk too fast, "That night the Death Eaters came, we were fighting outside. About Ginny."

"Oh," Ron rolled his eyes, "Yeah… I guess you didn't believe Malfoy when he told you, eh?"

Harry calmed down a bit; at least Ron was falling for his lie. Ron had long since found out about Ginny's affair with Dean Thomas, and accepted it, calling her a 'complete prat' for cheating on someone like Harry Potter.

Harry smiled. "No, I didn't…"

"Well, she's forgotten as well now," Ron started. "Obviously I can't forget about her, she is my sister, but I still hate her for what she did to you!"

"Thanks," Harry laughed.

"So come on then, what are we going to do next?" Ron asked.

"I don't know… I just want to get Draco and leave…"

"Well, don't we all!" Ron laughed again. But Harry knew he didn't understand what he meant.

Harry meant he wanted to get Draco and make him safe, and then leave forever. He had no idea where he wanted to go to, but anywhere far away from Grimmauld Place, Death Eaters and Voldemort would do him nicely. As long as he had Draco with him. He couldn't survive without Draco for much longer. He found it particularly funny that four months ago, he spat at the name of Malfoy, but now…

"What?" Ron stirred him from his thoughts and he realised he had just laughed out loud, albeit weakly.

"Nothing… I was just thinking…" Harry said dreamily.

"Well, think faster if you want to save Draco; from what Snape said, I don't think he's got long left," Ron remarked as he stood up. Harry's eyebrows screwed closer together. "I think dinner's almost ready; we're having a roast, so be down soon!"

And he left the room.

Harry couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and shake his head halfway between fury and admiration at his best friends' outlook on life. He seemed never to have a care in the world – other than food.

Harry turned his head and glanced out of the misty window. It was colder outside now, being the middle of November. He looked up at the moon, which would be full tomorrow, and hoped that Draco was warm inside.

* * *

Draco's eyes opened as his stomach rumbled again. He was sure that if he didn't eat soon, he'd start wasting away. He shivered as a draft of cold air blew in from one of the many doors, and pulled his tiny blanket further around himself.

He then hastily looked around the dungeon; yes, dungeon. The walls were made of thin bricks with no insulation, and the large room had nothing in it but him. And with only one tiny window at the far end of the room, Draco found it hard to tell between day and night. Right now, he'd say it was late evening, since the draft that had blown around him was particularly cold.

His eyes fell upon a billowing black cloak as Severus strode into the room, unaccompanied, as ever. Draco's eyes fixed themselves into a glare, as they always did when seeing Severus, even if Severus wasn't looking back at him.

"I've brought you some bread, Draco," Severus said quietly. "And a bowl of water."

"A bowl?" Draco repeated when Severus turned around to face him on the floor. "A bowl?!"

"What would you like? A china glass?" Severus snapped. "I can't do everything, Draco! I'm not supposed to be helping you!"

"I never asked you to!"

"Then why complain that I'm keeping you alive? Risking my own neck when you haven't asked me to!"

Draco glared him down again, and Severus breathed in deeply, brushing back his disgusting hair with one hand as if it calmed him down.

"Your little friend Potter better get here soon, Draco, or it will be the end of me and you," He said, turning again to pick up the bowl of water and bread.

"Good, one death eater gone," Draco hissed, "I will have done my part for the Order if nothing else."

Severus stared at him. "Do you want this bread? Or shall I eat it myself?"

Draco still glared, but his eyes shifted to the bread. His mouth opened slightly in a pathetically needing way and his whole body shook.

"Then you'd better earn some respect for me," Severus said calmly, butting the bread and water in front of Draco.

Draco waited until Severus' back was turned to grab the bread quickly and basically throw it down his throat. The whole time he ate Severus was looking out of the window, which Draco supposed he appreciated. He didn't want anyone to see him eating like a savage.

Soon he finished the bread and cupped water in his hands to drink. There was hardly any in the bowl, three mouthfuls at most.

"Can't you conjure some more?" He asked, trying to keep the begging tone out of his voice.

"No," Severus replied, turning to face him again, "The Dark Lord regularly checks wands; he'll wonder why I had to conjure water."

"Tell him you had to put out a fire or something!" Draco begged this time.

Severus smirked, "You have spent far too much time with that dim-witted Potter, Draco. It disappoints me that you believe the Dark Lord would fall for something like that."

"Harry's not dim-witted," Draco protested.

"Perhaps not, but he is gay, is he not?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Why do you ask me that every time you come in here?"

"Because I am sure of it," Severus replied, looking out of the window again. "I was close to your parents before they died, Draco, and I know that they would not want their only son fraternising with the enemy. Especially not having relations with said enemy."

Draco fumed. "You have nothing to worry about! Just because I am not enemies with Harry anymore doesn't mean I'm in love with him. I'm not gay, and neither is he!"

Severus didn't speak for a few minutes, so Draco merely sat against the same patch of wall with his small blanket close to him, furious that he'd lied about his feelings again. When Severus did speak, however, Draco was rather puzzled by the comment he made.

"It's a full moon tomorrow," He said quietly.

"So?" Draco said.

"I'm afraid, Draco," Severus said, much to Draco's surprise, "I do not know what the Dark Lord is planning for you. But he has mentioned tomorrow's date a lot recently. I can only hope he meant in the day time."

Draco stared, completely dumbstruck by Severus' words. "What are you talking about?"

Severus spun round to face him and whispered in a quick rage, "Didn't you ever pay attention in Hogwarts, boy?" He grabbed his left arm as Draco, too, felt his burn. "I have to go, but think about what happens on a full moon."

And before Draco could say anything else, Severus had made the bowl vanish and swept out of the room.

Draco lifted up his sleeve on his left arm and saw that the dark mark was brighter than before; something had happened that the Dark Lord wanted to tell all his Death Eaters about. Could it have been about tomorrow? Draco was sure that Severus had left with a word of warning. What did happen on a full moon?

Draco got up clumsily and shakily and walked over to the tiny window opposite him. He looked at the moon, which lit up hundreds of trees, coming out of which was a wolf.

Then it hit him.

Werewolves transformed on the full moon. And the Dark Lord had mentioned that date a lot? When talking about Draco or not? Draco began to tremble. Was that what the Dark Lord had in mind for his fate? To be eaten, or else bitten, by a Werewolf?

That couldn't happen to him! He'd rather die right now, in this dungeon, from Avada Kadavra than be bitten by a werewolf.

Draco looked up at the moon once again. He had never seen it that way before. The way that a moon could cause him to become a half-breed, or die in less than a day…

* * *

Harry twitched and squirmed in his sleep as he saw Voldemort glide over to a pale figure in the corner of a room. The person begged for forgiveness, for the Dark Lord's mercy, but to no avail. A bright green light lit up the room and Draco's blonde head fell to the ground.

"Harry! Harry! Open the door!"

Harry opened his eyes, breathing heavily. Hermione was thumping on the door.

"I'll open it with my wand if you don't… Oh," She said as Harry opened the door to his bedroom. "Are you ok? We heard…" She looked to the floor next to his bed and her face screwed with worry. "Harry, you've been sick."

"I know that, thanks," He said sarcastically, walking back over to his bedside table to use his wand to clean it up.

"Why?" Hermione asked, walking into the room behind him.

"I don't know, do I?" Harry replied tetchily as his wand siphoned away with mess on the floor.

"You're probably just worried about Draco," She said, conjuring him a glass of water.

Harry nodded and took the glass. "I dreamt that Voldemort killed him."

"Oh, Harry, you mustn't think like that," She said, patting his shoulder.

"How else can I think, Hermione? You heard what Snape said earlier; Voldemort's going to kill him sooner or later, and it will probably be sooner."

"Harry, don't…"

"I'm going back tomorrow," He interrupted. "I don't care if no one comes with me, but I owe Draco my life, and he's going to get his back."

Hermione sighed deeply, but then smiled. "Well don't worry, Ron and I will be there."

"It'll be dangerous," He warned her.

"Of course it will," Hermione smiled, "But what's a Harry, Ron and Hermione adventure without danger?"

Harry laughed weakly and took her hand. "Are you sure? You're getting married soon and…"

"All the more reason to do it now!" Hermione smiled, Harry smiled back. "I'll see you in the morning then. Is that when we're going?" Harry nodded. "Well get some sleep then, goodnight, Harry."

She left him sitting on his bed in the dark on his bed. After a little while, he laid back down and tried to think of something happy, but the only thing that came to mind was Draco rubbing his back, which led to Draco being killed. Harry shut his eyes drifted off into another uneasy sleep.

* * *

**A/N** Hope you liked this chapter, I feel so sorry for Draco, and I'm the one writing it!! How funny hehe… Well, hope you liked, thanks for reading! 


	20. The Rescue

**A/N**Ok, I have a lot of confessions to make… I read through this story so far today, and realised that I've made loads of mistakes. I don't think any of you have noticed, otherwise you would have told me, so I could really not say this and still get away with it, but I feel like I should own up to the mistakes made… First, in chapter ten, I have written that Draco had a 'naked torso' – can we scrub that please, because in chapter seventeen, that actually IS the first time Harry see's Malfoy with no top on. I'm sorry, that's a rubbish mistake I made! Second mistake… I've written in chapter nine that Ron and Hermione found Hufflepuff's cup, I actually meant to write the real locket Horcrux, because, as you know from chapter sixteen, Malfoy has Hufflepuff's cup. I'm sorry about that mistake!! Ok, final mistake; in chapter twelve, Harry mentions Horcruxes and Draco doesn't know what they are. I can't think of an excuse for this one, or how to change it… I'm really sorry, that's a terrible thing to have done; but I'll let you all know I'm blonde!!! I hope that accounts to something! I hope you don't all hate me now, please keep reading, I won't make mistakes like that again I promise!!!! Sorry…

**Fufu.a.k.a.speechless: **Well, you'll have to wait and see if they can find Draco lol!

**LoveYouLoveMe: **Would I really kill Draco? But then again, in other stories, I've killed him, and killed Harry…

**Njferrell: **Awww thank you so much!!! You really make me feel good about my writing you know! Because I read back what I've already written and think that most of it is rubbish – which it is, if you read above lol – but you make me feel so much better about it! Thanks!

**HarryPotter's-angel: **Aww thank you! Well here it is!

**MagicalWinry: **Ok! Thanks, I love new reviewers!

The Rescue

"Morning, Harry!" Hermione said chirpily as Harry entered the kitchen the next morning.

"What's the plan then?" Ron asked as he bit into a slice of toast.

Harry sat down opposite them and took a slice for himself from the middle of the table. "Well," He started, "All I've got so far is that only us three go."

Ron choked. "What?! That's suicide!"

"Ron!" Hermione tutted.

"I think it will be easier," Harry explained, lowering his voice, "It's harder to organise when there's more people. And we've done worse than this on our own!"

"We've never snuck into You-know-who's hiding place, Harry, let's be serious!" Ron scoffed.

"It'll be easy," Harry lied.

Ron raised and eyebrow, and Hermione didn't really look too pleased either.

"Ok, so let's say…" Harry thought quickly, making up a plan on the spot. "Ok, I've got it!" He smiled. "Right, if we do the same thing as yesterday, hiding in the grass, but stick together… We'll have to wait for individual Death Eaters to come along, so they'll be easier to stun on their own…"

"Stun?" Ron squeaked.

"Shush!" Harry snapped. "We'll take some Polyjuice Potion, Lupin's always got some handy, hasn't he? And then we can stun the Death Eater's, and take some of their hairs… We'll be fine!"

"What about Hermione?" Ron said, "She can't change into a bloke!"

Hermione nodded and said, "And where will we hide the bodies, our old clothes? Where will we get changed?"

"Ok, it's impractical now," Harry said, a little angry, "But everything always works out for us, doesn't it? There's bound to be a tree or a bush or something that we just couldn't see in the dark yesterday."

Ron and Hermione looked at each other. "I don't know, Harry…"

"Come on! We're never going to save Draco if you two only look at the consequences and bad points!" Harry argued.

"He has a point…" Ron said.

Hermione took another minute, and then said, "Oh fine! But Harry, we don't even know where Draco is in there! The place looked massive yesterday, how will we find him?"

Harry shrugged, "Improvisation!"

Hermione sighed again and rolled her eyes. "I'll get the potion…" She said dully, standing up.

A smile spread across Harry's face. "Hermione, if you and Ron weren't getting married, I'd say I love you!" Hermione rolled her eyes again, but seemingly amused this time. "I'll get my cloak," Harry added, running out of the kitchen.

* * *

"Harry, we need to go back and plan this out!" Hermione whispered frantically as they ducked lower into the long grass half an hour later. "There's not a tree in sight!"

"No," Harry agreed, "but no one seems to go round the other side of the building, do they?"

"So?"

"So we could put the victims there and get changed there!" Harry said.

"Are you mad?" Ron said, "Its way too obvious!"

"Where else will we do it all then?" Harry hissed slightly.

Ron and Hermione exchanged a nervous look.

"Fine," They said together.

"But if it goes…"

"Shh!" Harry hushed Hermione quickly, his eye straying far from her face. "Look."

He whispered so quietly that he could barely hear himself, but his finger pointing told Ron and Hermione what to do.

Bellatrix Lestrange was striding directly towards them. The only female Death Eater Harry knew of; this was Hermione's chance.

"Harry…" Hermione was shaking her head at him, but Harry had gotten too good at wordless spells recently to not take this opportunity.

He concentrated his mind and red sparks flew from the end of his wand, hitting Bellatrix right in the chest as he had pointed his wand upwards a little. She fell silently to the floor with a quiet thud.

"Harry…" Hermione repeated, evidently shocked.

"Take the cloak," Harry whispered, giving her his invisibility cloak, "And go round the other side of the building."

Hermione nodded hastily and did as she was told. She returned a few minutes later as the exact double of Bellatrix Lestrange.

"There's no one round there," She whispered as she got on the floor. "But I was…"

She stopped talking as two Death Eaters came over the hill towards the building. Harry recognised one of them to be Dawlish, the man he had seen Voldemort talking to in a vision, and the other, Harry had no idea. He thought he recognised him from somewhere, but it must have been a long time ago.

Ron looked at Harry, who nodded his head. Wordlessly, both of them stunned the two men, who fell backwards onto the ground, just as Lestrange had done.

"Come on," Harry whispered to Ron.

It was difficult to keep the cloak on the two of them and the two Death Eaters while walking around the other side of the black building, but with a bit of luck, nobody saw anyone apart from Hermione.

When they reached the other side, Harry and Ron dropped the Death Eaters on the ground and plucked out some of their hairs. Hermione handed them polyjuice potion and they drank quickly. Harry however, only got a sip, as Hermione squealed loudly.

"Shush Hermione!" He snapped at her, but she then raised her hand and pointed a finger towards the ground behind Harry's feet.

He turned slowly, while his t-shirt ripped because of the brutal size of Dawlish's body, and saw a tiny window, starting on the level of the grass. And behind the window, he saw a paler than pale face starting up at him, with messy straggles of white-blonde hair pointing in all directions.

"Draco…" He whispered.

"He looks awful!" Hermione exclaimed.

Draco walked slowly away from the window. For a moment Harry wondered why, but then realised that he did not look like Harry – he was a Death Eater.

"How are we going to get in?" Ron asked quietly.

Harry pulled out his wand and pointed it at the window.

"Harry, no!"

"Bombarda!" He said quickly, and the window smashed into pieces, leaving a small hole for him to climb through.

"Harry! People will have heard that!" Hermione shrieked quietly.

"I don't care!" He replied, getting on his hands and knees to crawl through the hole.

He did so, and fell a few feet to the floor painfully. He got up quickly and looked around to Draco. He was sitting in the corner of the large, empty room, pulling what looked like a piece of cloth around himself.

"Draco…" He whispered, running up to him.

"What're you doing here?" Draco glared. His voice sounded weak. "Where's Severus? Or your beloved master?"

"Draco, it's me," Harry said quickly. He turned to see Ron and Hermione now standing below the window. He couldn't possibly hold Draco's hand now, or hug him… "It's Harry!"

"What?" Draco said, looking from him to Ron and Hermione.

"It's me, Harry! That's Ron and Hermione!" Harry said quickly.

"It is, Malfoy," Ron said from the window.

"Harry…" Draco whispered. "Where have you been?"

"I'm sorry," Harry said, quite pathetically, "We had no idea where you were…"

"I've been waiting… I knew you'd come," Draco said weakly.

Harry smiled and reached out for his hand, but remembered that Ron and Hermione were behind him, watching.

"Bellatrix?" Harry jumped and turned around. Snape was crouching on the grass outside, looking through the window. "McNair, Dawlish. What are you doing?"

Harry's throat went dry as he stared at Snape, but Hermione spun around quickly and shouted, "Stupefy!"

Red sparks hit Snape in the face and he flew backwards out of sight.

"Good one," Ron said.

"We need to go," Harry said quickly, turning back round to Draco, who had already stood up. "You two get out and help Draco up," He said to Ron and Hermione, who clambered back out of the hole quickly.

As they turned round, Harry grabbed Draco's hand and squeezed it tightly. "I've missed you," He whispered.

Draco looked contemptuously back and sped alongside Harry, who then helped him out of the window hole.

Just as Draco's foot disappeared from sight, a door on the other side of the room opened. Harry turned and stared, right into the eyes of Voldemort.

"This is the last time, boy," Voldemort hissed before he properly looked around the room. "Dawlish? What are you doing in here? Where's the boy?"

Harry could feel his heart thumping in his chest; he had no idea what to say or do.

"Dawlish, tell me where the Malfoy boy is, or get ready to feel greater pain than you'd ever imagine," Voldemort said. "You're already on my bad side, Dawlish; don't make it worse for yourself."

Harry didn't think, he just pulled out his wand and yelled "Stupefy!"

Voldemort flicked his wand and the curse missed him by a mile.

Harry went to clamber out of the hole, but suddenly got a great pulling sensation at the back of his neck, and found himself being thrown across the room. He smashed into a wall and was dumped on the floor carelessly.

Then, he felt a terrible pain run through his entire body, and realised that he was changing back into himself, since he had only had a sip of the Polyjuice potion. His t-shirt was now far too big for him, as it had been stretched, and had holes all around it. He looked down and saw blood trickling slowly from his side.

"Potter…" Voldemort hissed quietly to himself.

Harry looked up quickly, into the creature's eyes. This was it, the end… Where were Ron, Hermione and Draco? He only hoped they'd run away and disapparated to safety.

"Oh, Potter," Voldemort started, "I've waited a long time for this moment… Crucio!"

Harry screamed and jerked around quickly; pain was filling his whole body. He screamed and begged for it to stop. Just kill him now… he couldn't stand any more of it. Please… stop!

The pain did stop as quickly as it had begun, and Harry went limp on the floor, only to see Voldemort fall over onto his back. He looked up to the window.

"Hermione…" He whispered.

"Harry!" She yelled, "Get up!"

Harry took another second, and then used every ounce of energy to pick himself up off the floor. He ran towards the window and Ron was there. He pulled Harry up and into the cold air, they then began to run, but Harry was knocked down again and the pain surged around him like lightening.

Then it stopped; but all too soon, another strange feeling warped through his body; something he had never felt before. But he knew as soon as it had happened what it was.

He reached for his wand with great difficulty. He tried not to take it, but he had to. He pointed it towards Draco, who was running along with Ron and Hermione, and the words of the curse flew to the back of his mind. "No…" He whispered to himself.

"Yes," Voldemort's voice sounded in his head.

The Imperius curse was too strong for him, and suddenly, two words flew from his mouth, and a jet of green light followed.

"Avada Kadavra!" He yelled.

In the distance, he heard Bellatrix Lestrange's voice shout, "Get down!" And Hermione and Ron threw themselves on Draco. All three of them fell to the floor; the killing curse missing them by inches.

The Imperius curse had been lifted as Voldemort shouted out in anger. Harry sprinted towards Ron, Hermione and Draco, dodging curses as he went. As soon as he reached them, he grabbed someone's hand, twirled and clicked his fingers.

* * *

He fell on the floor, Hermione fell on top of him, followed by Ron and Draco.

"Argh!"

Harry's small wound on his side opened a little further from the weight of three people on top of him.

"Sorry mate," Ron said, standing up.

"Sorry, Harry… Harry you're bleeding!" Hermione shrieked.

"Yeah I know, it'll stop…" He said slowly, standing up clumsily.

"But Ha…"

Hermione was cut off by the entrance of Mrs Weasley. She screamed shortly at the sight of two Death Eaters, but she then looked from Harry to the two of them.

"Ron, Hermione?" She asked quietly.

"No mum," Ron said sarcastically. "Harry's just made friends with two Death Eaters."

Mrs Weasley rolled her eyes and looked at Draco.

"Oh my goodness, dear, you look terrible!" She said. "Come on, it's a good thing those three got there in time, isn't it! Come on, have some food."

"Thank you, Mrs Weasley," Draco replied kindly, following her into the kitchen.

Harry was most grateful, as his scar was searing with pain. He felt as if he was going to throw up if he didn't lie down.

"Aren't you coming, Harry?" Hermione asked as she and Ron walked towards the kitchen.

"No…" He replied through gritted teeth. "I'll just go and lie down…"

"You need to sort that cut out," She said.

Harry had forgotten all about the gash on his side, for the pain in his head was too vast.

"Don't worry…" He said, beginning to heave as the pain got even worse.

He ran towards the stairs, but fell over halfway up them, screaming out in pain.

"Harry!" Hermione shouted, running up beside him, with Ron in close pursuit.

Harry could barely hear them; all he could hear was Voldemort shouting curses at the newly revived Snape, Lestrange, Dawlish and McNair.

Then, the pain in his forehead peaked, and he opened his eyes.

He saw Bellatrix and McNair in front of him; those stupid, naïve fools! Who would have thought that three little brats could outwit them? They were supposed to be a few of the finest Death Eaters he had ever branded with the Dark Mark, but they let four children slip through their fingers!

"Harry, why are you looking at us like that…" Hermione said quietly.

"Can you _never_ do what I tell you?" He shouted at them, raising his wand.

McNair raised his, too. "Don't try to fight me, McNair!"

"Mate, I'm not McNair, I'm Ron! That's Hermione!"

"Silence!" He shouted.

"Harry, you're not Voldemort!"

"Harry!"

He looked to his side. Draco stared up at him through the banister, eyes wide and scared.

"Harry, its ok…" Draco said slowly.

Harry breathed heavily, staring at the three of them. More people walked into the hall, all staring at him.

Then suddenly, he saw a flash of green light, felt a stab of pain in his scar and fell over again, hitting his head on a step. He screamed out in pain once again, and then all light and sound was diminished.

* * *

**A/N** Hope you liked this chapter! I thought it was a bit rushed so I went back through again and tried to make it right, so I hope you like it! I have to say... I love the end! 


	21. Back Now

**A/N** Thanks to reviewers:

**QuincePaste: **Thank you so much! I appreciate your forgiveness hehe!

**Fufu.a.k.a.speechless: **Lol, Yes, Draco is back, doesn't mean everything will get better though!

**LoveYouLoveMe: **Thank you! Sorry for the long update, it feels like ages since I updated anyway!

**HarryPotter's-angel: **Tehe thank you!! I know, I'm glad someone is finally feeling sympathy for Harry!!!

**MagicalWinry: **Tehe, I'm glad I can create that anticipation in readers hehe!

Back Now

"All he did was bang his head! He's been here three days!"

"Miss Granger, you don't seem to understand what I'm asking you. If you could just give me a straight answer, then perhaps we can make Mr Potter better more quickly."

"We're not giving you anymore information than you need."

Harry heard a sigh and footsteps hitting the floor loudly, and then fading away, with a slight slam of the door behind them.

"Hey, he'll be ok," He heard Ron say sympathetically to Hermione.

"But he's not ok, is he Ron?" Hermione sobbed. "He's been unconscious for three days!"

Harry breathed in deeply and then spoke. "You're not counting today are you?"

"Harry!" Hermione squealed and ran up to him.

"Alright, mate?" Ron said, walking up behind her.

Harry sat and thought for a second, and then replied truthfully, "Yeah, I feel ok."

"Oh, Harry, it's amazing! I can't believe you're…" Hermione squealed again. "Well, of course you're better, you always get better!"

Harry smiled. "Have I really been out of it for three days?"

"Yes," She answered quickly. "We've all been worried sick! And after what happened to you on the stairs…"

Harry held up a hand to silence her. He remembered it vividly, and did not want to be openly reminded of what he almost did to his friends.

"How's Draco?" He asked.

"Oh, forget about him!" Hermione said, waving her hand aside.

"How is he?" Harry said again.

"He's fine, mate," Ron answered kindly. "He's been sitting in here quite a lot. I think he feels responsible."

"That's ridiculous!" Harry exclaimed.

"Yeah, we've told him that hundreds of times, but he won't listen."

Harry felt a shiver blow up his spine. Half the time he had been unconscious his mind was filled with images of Draco. They weren't very clear, and Harry couldn't make out what he was doing half the time – probably because he had bashed his head so hard – but he knew that every time he saw Draco, he saw himself as well.

"Any news on Voldemort?" Harry asked after a minute.

"No," Hermione answered, "Everything's very hushed up about him. But you'd expect that wouldn't you? After all, he's taken over the ministry, so they only print what he wants them to print."

Harry nodded slowly. The other half of the time he was asleep, Harry saw Voldemort torturing various people. Again, his mind was too blurred to figure out who they were, but he knew that he was cursing, because flashes of red, and sometimes even green light appeared in his mind's eye.

Harry reached up with a weak arm to rub his scar, which continuously prickled uncomfortably.

"Is it still hurting?" Hermione asked wearily.

"Yeah, but I think its still calming down from the other day," Harry replied honestly.

The three of them were silent with their own thoughts for a few minutes, until Hermione said quietly, "Would you like to see Draco?"

Harry looked at her. Could ducks swim?

"Yeah… If that's ok," He replied calmly, trying to keep his cool.

Hermione smiled warmly and stood up. "We'll go get him for you."

She and Ron left the room, and Harry lay patiently in his bed, feeling quite apprehensive. He hadn't spoken to Draco for over a month, apart from the rescue, but that didn't really count. He was worried that whilst his feelings for Draco had grown much stronger in his absence, Draco's feelings for Harry may have disappeared.

He was lost in his thoughts, when all of a sudden, Draco was standing only a few feet from his bed.

Harry looked at him. He couldn't tell what the expression on Draco's face was saying, for he just seemed to stare back at him.

He opened his mouth to start talking, but Draco jumped in before him.

"I'm so sorry, Harry," He said quickly.

"What for?"

"Making you end up like this. If I wasn't being held by the Dark Lord then…"

"And if I wasn't staying at your house, you wouldn't have been caught by him," Harry interrupted.

Draco's stiff shoulders seemed to sag at this. Harry noticed that he was still quite pale; but he supposed that after a month of hardly eating, it would take more than three days to get back to normal.

"You look weak," He said.

Draco half smiled and replied, "You look worse, thank you very much."

Harry smiled. A silence filled the room that made Harry feel uneasy, like something was wrong.

"Why are you standing all the way over there?" He asked quietly.

Draco shrugged, "In case you didn't want me here."

"I asked for you to come, didn't I?" Another pause as Draco stared intently at his feet. "Come over here," Harry said, patting the space on the bed next to him.

Draco walked slowly over to the bed and sat on it with his back to Harry.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked.

"I'm fine," Draco replied, not looking at him.

Fear bubbled in Harry's stomach; there was a reason that Draco didn't want to look at him, and there was one reason flying around Harry's head.

"Liar," Harry tried at a smile, but Draco didn't look at him. "Draco, please, tell me what's wrong?"

Draco finally turned around slowly, but kept his eyes averted on his own hands.

"Were… were you really going to leave, that day I got taken?" He asked slowly.

Harry's eyes widened. He had never seen this part of Draco before. It was like he was going to fall apart at any second. And Harry could barely remember the day the Death Eaters and Voldemort invaded the manor; it was all a blur at the back of his brain.

"I'm sorry I lied to you, Harry," Draco went on, "I just… I didn't want you to hate me like you used to, and you would have if I'd told you about that thing," He said, signalling his left arm. "I hate it as much as you, honest."

"I believe you," Harry said quickly, which was the truth. He had believed Draco since the second he told Harry to run away at the manor.

"But would you have really left?"

Harry paused. He would have, he knew it. "I would have come back…" He said quietly.

Draco's head turned away again and he stood up.

"Draco…" Harry went to get out of bed to follow him. His head span dizzyingly and he fell to the floor.

"Harry!" Draco ran over to him and helped him up. "Stay in bed."

He went to walk away again, but Harry grabbed his left arm.

"I didn't like that thing for no reason you know!" He said.

Draco turned to face him, and Harry could see that he was trying to hide a smirk. "No, you did it so that I could tell the Dark Lord."

Harry smiled and shook his head. "I needed an excuse, didn't I? It's not every day I just lick someone's arm for the fun of it."

"So was I a one off then?" Draco asked slyly.

Harry knew that he already knew the answer. "No, you were – are – more than that."

Draco smiled lightly at Harry's words, and gave in to walking back towards him.

"I've missed you," He said quietly.

"Not as much as I've missed you," Harry replied, shaking his head.

"I take it that the Weasel and Granger have made it up to you then?" Draco asked, sitting next to Harry on the bed.

"Yeah, they're much nicer about you now as well," Harry replied.

"How so?"

"Well, they were the only ones that offered to come and help me rescue you. And they were the only ones that went back to the manor with me after you were taken."

"Does this mean I have to call them by their first names?" Draco moaned.

"Well they call you Draco now… Hermione does anyway…" Harry answered.

Draco rolled his eyes and acted a sigh. Harry laughed and caught Draco staring at him as he did so.

The two sat there for a few minutes in silence. Harry's hand snaked down to take hold of Draco's. It was different now. Before Draco was taken away, his skin was always so soft, it was like touching silk. But now, Harry held his hand and it felt rather like a sheet of sand paper that they used in muggle primary schools. This made a wave of guilt flow over him; Draco would still be the same if he hadn't sacrificed himself for Harry.

"Draco," Harry said. Draco made a mumbling sort of noise and Harry continued. "What happened after Voldemort took you away?"

Draco's hand, which had been rubbing Harry's, stopped, and his head turned to face him. His expression of calmness looked forced, like he didn't want to give too much away.

"Nothing really…" He mumbled.

"Nothing being…?" Harry prompted.

Draco sighed and rolled his eyes again. "They threw me in that cellar room, and I was there for the whole month."

"That's it?" Harry asked. "What about Sectumsempra? Hetty said that Snape used it on you. They can't have just left you in that room, bleeding to death?"

Harry felt rather foolish after saying this, because after all, they were talking about Death Eaters and Voldemort.

"Yeah, they did," Draco corrected him. "I think they expected me to die a painful death. But then, I don't know how much later it was, Severus came in and stopped the bleeding the same way he did when you…" Harry cringed. "Well, he stopped it anyway."

"But why?" Harry asked, trying to ignore the fact that him nearly killing Draco in sixth year was brought up in the conversation.

"He told me it was because he cared about me, having been close to my father…" Harry scoffed. "Yes, that's what I thought. But after two weeks I started to rely on him a lot. He brought me food whenever he could. And he told me what the Dark Lord was up to – which wasn't a lot," He added as Harry opened his mouth to ask. "Mainly he just argued with Severus about me, I think. The Dark lord wanted me dead, Severus wanted me alive."

"I wonder why though," Harry pondered aloud.

"Yes, but it doesn't matter now. I'm back here," Draco smiled. "I told Severus you'd come for me. He jibed at me a lot after the first two weeks, saying that you obviously didn't care, but I knew you did. Even though I thought you hated me."

Harry looked back up and realised that Draco was smirking. A shiver shot down his spine.

"You never give up, do you?" Harry said.

"I'm a Malfoy, whether you like it or not, and Malfoy's never stop until they win their prize."

Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Not that you're a prize!" Draco said quickly. "I'd never think of you like that! I love you too much."

Harry felt a warm sensation in his chest. "You still do? After I left you for so long?"

"Like I said, I knew you'd come back. You told me you would. And I don't care if you don't love me, either. I've told you this a million times, too!"

"Who said I didn't love you?" Harry said slyly.

"Pardon?" Draco replied.

"Who said I don't love you?" Harry repeated. "I've never told you that, I'd never say a thing like that!" He smiled cheekily.

Draco half smirked, and half smiled, taking Harry's hand again, stroking it as he was before.

"So when we're both back to full health," Draco started, "You'll come back to the manor with me?"

Harry did a double take of what he just heard. "Go where?"

"Back to the manor," Draco said again, "And live with me again."

"Draco, we can't go back there. Not until Voldemort's dead, at least."

"Why not?" Draco asked sadly.

It pained Harry to see Draco looking upset, but it was the truth. "Voldemort took over the ministry, remember? He took the wards off your house. If we went back there, the whole saga of this last month will just happen over again. And I'm not sure if I can make it another month without you."

Draco's shoulders sagged again, but he smiled nonetheless.

"I've missed you," Draco said.

"You've told me already," Harry smiled.

"I know, but I want you to understand," Draco said. "I've missed more than just you. I've missed your laugh, your smile, your new smirk, your stupidly messy hair, your smell."

Harry smiled and felt his face getting hotter and red. "Well, we're together again now, and I won't get separated from you again."

"If my father knew I was gay…" Draco shook his head.

"You're not gay," Harry said, sitting up, closer to him. "You're just in love with me. The same as I am with you."

"Which makes us gay!" Draco laughed.

"No, because you've never been attracted to other men, have you?"

"No, I suppose not," Draco admitted. "There's just something about you…"

"I know how you feel," Harry replied.

He got a slight shock when Draco's cold hand touched his back underneath his t-shirt, pulling him closer.

Harry quickly glanced towards the door to make sure it was shut. It was – Harry was sure Draco had planned this whole thing out, deliberately closing the door behind him when he first came into the room.

"I regret so many things about my life, Harry;" Draco said, coming closer to Harry's face. So close that Harry was slightly aroused by the feel of Draco's breath on his cheek. "But the thing I regret most is letting you find out about that thing on my arm at that particular moment on that particular night."

Harry's eyelids dropped for a second as he realised what Draco meant – what was about to happen just before Harry saw the Dark Mark ok Draco's arm.

"If I could do that night over, I wouldn't let you see it until the morning," Draco said, his lips moving down now, so that they were almost touching his neck.

Harry tried not to wriggle at his obvious arousal, but he didn't have enough control over his body. "Aren't we still a bit too unhealthy for these games?" He whispered, also unconsciously pulling Draco's whole body closer to his.

Draco stopped suddenly and pulled away. "Who's playing games?" Harry smiled. "Do you not want it?" Draco asked sarcastically, smirking.

Harry smirked back, a trait that he had undoubtedly picked up while living at Malfoy Manor. "You know, I think deep down, I've wanted it for as long as you have."

"Are you telling me I was right all along?" Draco asked, brushing his hand up Harry's thigh through the thin duvet.

"No, I'm just telling you I was wrong," Harry replied.

He then pulled Draco quickly back towards him, and their lips finally met. Electricity soared through him, just like it had the first time they kissed, and his erection got harder by the second.

However, Draco's lips weren't as soft as they once were, quite like his hands, but it didn't matter to Harry. As Draco's body pushed itself towards him, feeling him all over with his hands, Harry quite literally forgot about the terrible goings on of the last month, and his mind filled with excitement and, quite humorously, curiosity of what was going to happen next.

Harry's hands slipped down to Draco's waistline and took hold of his t-shirt, ready to pull it off over Draco's head, but suddenly, Draco wasn't there anymore and Harry was breathing quickly out of his mouth.

He shot a puzzled look at Draco as he pulled Harry's hands off his t-shirt, but then he realised why.

"Harry! Draco!"

Harry's jaw dropped as he heard Hermione's voice calling from somewhere down the corridor. It dawned on him that he had heard something before this as well, just before Draco pulled away.

"Oh for fuck sake!" He cursed suddenly, making Draco laugh a little and raise an eyebrow.

Then the door opened, and Hermione stood there smiling.

"How're the two of you feeling?" She asked chirpily, striding over to Harry's bed, which Draco had vacated a few seconds before the door opened.

"Very well, thank you," Draco answered in a gentlemanly voice.

"That's good!" Hermione replied. "How about you, Harry? We told the Healer that you had come round, and she said there's no reason you can't go downstairs and have some dinner with us as long as you take it steadily."

"Thanks, Hermione, I will," Harry said unenthusiastically.

Hermione smiled at the two of them, and then said, "So, what have you two been talking about?"

Harry opened his mouth to say 'None of your business', but Draco answered first.

"Harry was just telling me all about the Horcruxes that you've got in the last month, even though I told him I'd already heard it from you and Wea – Ron," He said, cringing a little bit at the name 'Ron'.

Hermione smiled appreciatively. "Well, why don't you both come down for dinner then? It's your favourite, Harry, roast chicken. Molly was so pleased to hear that you'd woken up she said she'd cook it just for you!"

"Ok, we'll be down in a minute," Harry said, trying to get rid of her.

"I'll help you out of bed," She said, walking around to take his arm.

"I don't need…"

"You do, you fell over earlier!" Draco butted in.

When Hermione turned away from Draco, Harry saw him raise an eyebrow again and stick his nose slightly in the air, smirking, yet again.

* * *

**A/N** Woop woop! Hope you like this chapter. I liked writing it. All the awkwardness between Harry and Draco is really cool in my opinion hehe!! 


	22. I Want to Play Now

**A/N** Thanks to reviewers:

**LoveYouLoveMe: **Tehe, glad I can make you hungry with my stories!!!(?) Glad you liked it!

**Fufu.a.k.a.speechless: **Yes, I love making Hermione annoying and yet the same loveable character!! Yes… for now… muhahaha!!!

**MagicalWinry: **OK!

**Llama-k'Leysha42: **Lol! Thank you for being a new reviewer at this late stage of the story!

**QuincePaste: **Yeah, my story would just be nothing now if Hermione didn't interrupt them would it!!! Lol! II love sarcasm, and the word 'smirked' is like, something I use every single day since I started this fic lol!!!

I Want to Play Now

"_You know that soon enough they'll come and take me, Harry."_

"_No, I won't let them."_

"_Then the order will make me leave."_

"_They don't want you to leave anymore."_

"_But do you want me to, Harry?"_

Harry jolted in his sleep and woke up fiercely, feeling a strange sort of lump beside him. He opened his eyes and flipped over to grab his wand, although he couldn't see anything as it was evidently the middle of the night. Then a voice spoke from behind him and made him jump.

"You were talking in your sleep," Draco stated quietly.

Harry sighed with relief at the sound of Draco's voice and turned back around.

"What are you doing in here?" He whispered quickly.

"You were saying things like 'don't leave', and 'I won't let them'," Draco said, not listening to Harry's question.

Harry squinted his eyes a bit, as though it would be able to make him see more than just the silhouette of Draco, but it didn't work. He could tell that Draco was worried about that dream he had just had.

"What's wrong with that?" Harry asked.

"Well, you were dreaming about me leaving," Draco answered quietly.

"No," Harry started to correct him, "I was dreaming about you not leaving."

"It's the same difference, Harry," Draco whispered quickly, clearly aggravated.

"Listen," Harry said, "In my dream, you were telling me that sooner or later, Death Eaters will come to take you away, that or the Order will make you leave, and I just said that the Order don't want you to leave anymore."

"Are you sure?" Draco said, turning and flipping his legs onto the bed. "What did they say in that meeting earlier? And why wouldn't they let me go to it if they really wanted me to stay here?"

Harry sighed; it was like Draco could read his mind.

There had, indeed, been an Order meeting earlier, of which Draco was not allowed to attend. Harry was quiet excited about going to it, as it had been a month since they had rescued Draco, and he was convinced that they were going to tell Harry that Draco could now join the Order. To his dismay, however, Remus was still banging on about the idea of separating Harry and Draco. Harry, of course, had began a huge tantrum and stormed from the meeting barely before it had begun.

He thought that Draco hadn't noticed the disruption, since he didn't come to see Harry. But now, he realised at Draco's words that he must have known something was wrong.

"Harry?" Draco prompted.

"Draco, you shouldn't be in my room," Harry said quietly.

"No one's awake," Draco dismissed, "Tell me what happened?"

Harry sighed again and said even more quietly, "They're still saying we should be separated."

Draco didn't reply, so Harry went on. "I don't know if it's for your safety or mine, but they want to put you into hiding now. I think they've finally realised that I want to stay here and do what Dumbledore wanted me to do."

"Then we've just got to convince them that I want to stay and do my part!" Draco said.

Harry shook his head, forgetting that Draco probably couldn't see him. "No, they think you've already done your part by hiding me for three months."

"Well then just tell them I want to do more!"

"They don't see it that way!" Harry argued, "They see it how Death Eaters see it; you're my friend, therefore you must be with me."

"Why are you defending what Lupin is saying?" Draco asked suddenly.

"I'm not, I'm just…" Harry stopped. What was he trying to do?

"Harry," Draco said, moving his hand around to find Harry's, "This past month has been horrible. One minute you're flirting with me, the next you're kissing me, and then the next you're telling me to get out of your room. Now you're defending what the Order are saying about throwing me out. I have no where to go, you said that yourself; I can't go back to the Manor."

"I…" Harry tried to cut in, but Draco ignored him and carried on.

"I love you, and I want you," He whispered, "And the reason I came here tonight was to suggest that we leave this place – get our own house. We could have a normal relationship and not have to hide anything."

Harry sat, stunned at the words he was hearing spill from Draco's mouth. Was he really being honest? Did he really think that moving away from Grimmauld Place would solve all their problems? And where had that come from anyway? Harry had noticed nothing wrong with their relationship from the last month; sure, it was frustrating (in more ways than one) when people burst in on their little time alone, but what was that time alone going to amount to anyway?

"Well?" Draco prompted.

"Draco, I…" Harry stuttered, "We can't just up and leave!"

"Well I know," Draco said, sounding as if he was laughing, "But once we've found a house, we can get away from here."

Harry sighed and shook his head. "Even then, Draco, we can't leave. I need to stay here until Voldemort is dead."

For a moment, Harry thought that Draco would slap him around the face, but then he sighed and got off the bed.

"You don't want to live alone with me, do you?" He asked.

"Draco, I'd love to live alone with you, surely you know that!" He said quickly, adding as a joke "I'm just afraid of what you might do to me!"

Draco sounded as if he bit back a laugh, "I want to do things to you that will still cause you pleasure the morning after just thinking about it."

Harry felt a twitch in his left hand and crotch area. He smirked, although Draco couldn't see.

"But the problem is, you won't let me do that to you here," Draco continued.

"But that's understandable isn't it?" Harry asked, "I don't want Ron or Hermione walking in when we're having…"

"Gay sex?" Draco finished for him. Harry smiled and suddenly felt the weight of Draco's body on the bed right next to him, and a hand go under the covers to place itself on Harry's leg. "But there's no one around now, no one's awake. I thought you were a sex addict?"

"Not when I might wake up everyone in the house," Harry laughed.

Draco sighed and stood up again. "Fine, but I want something soon, Harry; and if we don't get a house of our own, I don't see why the Manor would be such a bad place for one evening."

Harry heard the door open before he even realised that Draco had walked across the room. "Goodnight," He whispered, and Harry heard the door click shut again.

He laughed quietly and shook his head as he laid back down. That was the third time in one week that Draco had snuck into his room, and it always ended up to be the same conversation that they had; about sex. Then Harry would go back to sleep and dream of things that he didn't know how to do, but wake up the next morning aroused nevertheless.

* * *

"Harry! Don't be in such a mood!" Hermione yelled at him from across the room.

"I'm not in a mood," Harry lied.

Hermione tutted and carried on reading her book while Ron continued to beat Draco at magical chess.

Harry watched them all, trying not to let anything get to him, but recently his life just seemed to get worse and worse by the minute. First Remus sticks to his idea of basically kicking Draco out onto the street, then today – the next day – Harry gets reminded that Ginny is arriving back for Christmas. It wouldn't have been that bad if the Weasley's were going back to the Burrow for Christmas, but Mrs Weasley had insisted that they stay with Harry and Draco. First, she tried to convince them to go to the Burrow, but if Harry was being honest, Grimmauld Place was a lot bigger, and safer.

So it was, about half an hour, Harry would see Ginny for the first time since they had broken up; or rather, since he had broken up with her. And every time someone spoke to him, his response would be more or less, a grunt.

"That's it!"

Harry jumped as Draco stomped away from the table on which he was playing wizard chess with Ron.

"It's a ridiculous game anyway! Who would want to play it?" He snapped.

Harry began to laugh as Draco sat next to him on the sofa, which obviously came as a surprise to Ron and Hermione, who joined in.

"You probably are good at it," Harry told him, "But no one ever beats Ron."

Ron smiled widely at this praise.

"Well then I'll challenge someone else," Draco said to Harry, "Let me play with you."

Harry's eyes widened quickly and he thanked god that he mostly had his back turned from Ron and Hermione, otherwise they would have seen his face turn scarlet.

"Not right now," He said pointedly, trying to make his intentions clear with his face.

"I want to play now," Draco smirked.

Harry's heart started to beat a little quicker, but mostly from fear that Ron and Hermione would catch on to their little game.

"I'll play with you Draco," Hermione piped up. Draco span towards her, looking disgusted, and Harry had to bite both of his lips in order to not laugh out. "I'm shocking at it!" She laughed.

Draco stared for a minute longer, then his face relaxed. "Oh, right… Well… Oh ok then."

Draco begrudgingly went to sit at the table with Hermione as Ron came to sit next to Harry. Harry had to pull his eyes away from the table with great difficulty as Ron began to say something, but then there was a great commotion in the hall outside, and Ron stopped.

All four of them seemed to freeze and stare at the door, pulling out their wands slowly.

"Sorry!" Harry heard her shout from outside the closed door, "I just knocked over the umbrella stand!"

"Oh Ginny!" Mrs Weasley called back loudly, "You gave us such a fright!"

Ron and Hermione smiled at each other and ran from the room. Harry heard loud 'hello's' from the hall only seconds after. He sighed as he looked into the fireplace and said, more to himself than Draco, "They're back early."

"Who cares?" Draco said, standing up. "Let's go and say hello."

"What?" Harry said, not moving.

"You can't not talk to her for three weeks, Harry," Draco said, taking Harry's arm. "Anyway, I'm sure she's angrier at me than she is at you!"

Harry sighed as he was pulled out of his chair and through the door to the hall. Ginny was talking animatedly to Fred and George as Harry and Draco approached.

She laughed, "Well that's what I said! But I… Oh, hi Harry."

Harry smiled weakly and replied, "Hey, Gin…"

There was an awkward pause as Ginny's cheeks flushed slightly pinker then they already were. "It's good to see you looking so well."

"Yeah…" Harry replied unsurely, "Draco's been looking after me," He added as an afterthought, pointing at Draco who stood next to him.

"Oh," She said. Harry noticed the tips of her ears burn red like Ron's did when he was angry. However, she changed the subject quickly, "I was wondering if we could talk later, in private."

"About what?" Harry asked.

"Well, I'll tell you then!" She tried at a giggle, but Harry's face stayed neutral. Her smiled disappeared at this and she said, "Well… I'll talk to you later then…"

She walked away into the kitchen quickly, and Harry couldn't help but swallow sickly as he realised how much he had missed the way her hips moved as she walked, and the way her hair bounced and shone in the breeze.

Draco must have noticed Harry staring at her backside, as he quickly grabbed his left hand and pulled him back into the living room.

"There we go," He said slightly breathlessly, "Wasn't so bad, was it?"

"No," Harry replied, trying to smile at him.

Harry cocked his head slightly as Draco's eyes seemed to zoom around the room, and then suddenly he was being pulled fiercely towards him, and their lips crashed together. Draco's tongue pushed through Harry's lips and started to feel around everywhere in Harry's mouth. Soon enough, Harry's was doing exactly the same thing.

Draco then pulled away and smirked as he opened the door slightly, "Remember what I said earlier," He said as Harry caught his breath, "I do want to play with you soon."

And with that, he left the room, leaving Harry smirking foolishly on the spot, feeling quite pleased with himself for a reason that he didn't really understand.

* * *

An hour and a half later, everyone had eaten a marvellous dinner cooked, as usual, by Mrs Weasley. Harry couldn't talk for anyone else, but he had eaten far too much and felt utterly bloated, so all he wanted to do was sit down somewhere and go to sleep. And by the looks of things, everyone else had rather the same idea.

Everyone was pouring out of the kitchen to go and sit in the living room, when a hand gripped tightly around Harry's wrist.

He turned quickly to see Ginny holding him back.

"Can we have that talk now?" She asked quietly, yet chirpily.

Harry's mind whirled with excuses to say no, but none of them seemed good enough for some odd reason. He turned around quickly to find Draco; he'd be able to come up with an excuse easily. But to his disappointment, the only eyes he caught were Hermione's, who nodded quickly at him.

"Ok…" He replied quietly, and Ginny walked quickly up the stairs, dragging Harry along behind her.

Once in Hermione's room, which Harry guessed Ginny would be sharing with her, Ginny closed the door softly and turned to face him.

"Thank you," She said first.

"What for?" Harry asked.

"Well, agreeing to talk to me," She smiled. Harry made a curt sort of nod in her general direction and sat down. He wouldn't be pulled in by her tonight, or any other night of the year. "I just wanted to say… erm, I'm sorry, really…"

Harry held back a scoff, "Sorry for what, exactly?"

Ginny turned slightly pink. "Everything. You didn't deserve to be… cheated on… And I shouldn't have accused Malfoy of being gay…"

Harry smiled foolishly.

"What?" Ginny asked.

"Nothing," Harry lied, "It's just, a funny accusation to make."

"I'm glad you can still laugh with me," She replied, smiling and sitting down rather close to him on her bed.

"Yeah…" Harry said, being slightly distracted by the sweet scent of her hair.

"I do regret it, Harry," She said softly, moving closer to him. "I've missed you so much."

"I've…" Harry stopped. He wouldn't let himself say that he'd missed her too.

Ginny seemed to moan as she continued to move closer. "I've stopped seeing Dean now, by the way. I think I only did it because I was missing you so much."

"You think," Harry repeated.

"Well no! I know that's the only reason I did it!" She said quickly. "And, he wasn't as good as you anyway. I don't think anybody could ever make me feel the way you do…"

Harry's eyes flittered shut for a moment as Ginny's breath blew in his ear. A wave of something shot through him, and he saw two images in his mind. Ginny and himself kissing was the first, and then Ginny and himself naked on a bed was the second.

"I love you, Harry," She whispered, "And if you ever decide you want me back, I'll always be waiting to be your wife."

She placed a delicate hand on his leg, very high up, and Harry may has well have just pounced. Before he had even gotten anything straight in his head, Ginny's hands were snaking up his back, pulling his t-shirt up with them. Then his shirt was off, and so was Ginny's. Her lips were just as soft as he remembered them, and her tongue glided as smoothly as it always had over his.

Ginny took him by the waist and tried to push him down to lie on the bed, but as Harry's hands also held Ginny's waist, he jumped and threw her off him.

"Ah!" She yelped from the floor.

Harry was breathing heavily. He pushed his hand through his tangled hair and stood up quickly.

"What the fuck are you doing?" He said quietly.

"You started it!" She yelled.

"You're a fucking slag!" He shouted.

"Harry!" She cried.

"Oh stop crying, you know its true!" He yelled, walking across the room to pick up his t-shirt.

"I'm not a…"

"I bet you're still doing him, aren't you?" He said a bit calmer as he put his shirt back on.

"W-what?" She stammered.

"Dean Thomas; I bet you're still fucking him too," He said.

"No, Harry; I love you!" She sobbed again as she stood up with only a bra to cover her top half. Harry almost cringed at the sight.

"Well I don't love you," He said sternly.

Finally, Ginny didn't talk back. She just stood there, apparently stunned at Harry's words, and started to cry some more.

"It was nice to have one final kiss and everything," Harry said, walking towards the door, "But that's it Ginny. Don't try this again while you're here. I don't want to be with you anymore."

He turned and opened the door to walk through it, but something suddenly hit him in the back of the head. He span around to see a still crying Ginny with a death stare on her face. He then looked to the floor and saw a small silver ring. He bent to pick it up.

"Have it back," Ginny spat, "I don't want anything from you!"

"You know Ginny," Harry started, "I think we finally agree on something. There was only ever one thing you wanted, and I don't want to give it to you anymore."

Harry turned around again and left the room. After closing the door behind him, he saw Draco standing in the doorway to his bedroom, a worried look on his face.

Harry stopped and smiled lightly at him from across the corridor. Draco took the correct meaning, as relief then showed on his face and he mouthed, 'I love you'.

Harry said aloud, "I know," and smiled as he walked off down the stairs to lounge in the living room with all the other Weasley's.

* * *

**A/N** Hope you like the chapter. I wasn't really happy with the start, but I like the rest!! Hope its ok! Oh, I have two chapters left now by the way… Just to let you prepare yourselves!! 


	23. Tangled

**A/N** Here's a super-dooper long chapter for you all!! Thanks to reviewers:

**Fufu.a.k.a.speechless: **Hehe, I know. I don't hate Ginny, but in every single story I write she seems to be a bitch. Oh well, its better that way!

**MagicalWinry: **Ok! Lol!

**LoveYouLoveMe: **Thanks! Hope you like this one!

**HarryPotter's-angel: **Thank you! And I hope this is soon enough lol!

**Gorgeousbowneyesslash: **I know you won't get to this chapter for a while, but I just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to read my story hun, and thank you sooo much for being a beta reader of this chapter!! I hope the fic has been worth your time lol!

Tangled

It had been a week since Ginny had arrived, and it was needless to say that the Weasley's – Ron in particular – had noticed Harry and Ginny's strange behaviour. Harry tried to ignore their odd looks and such however, as all the Weasley's knew that they had broken up long ago, so what was all the worry about?

It was now Christmas Eve, and all of them, plus some from the Order, like Remus and Tonks, had just arrived home from a highly planned out shopping trip into Diagon Ally: highly planned out of course, because of Harry.

"Come on get in, get in!" Fred called quickly to the last stragglers to enter the house.

Finally, the front door was closed and Harry removed his invisibility cloak. As soon as he did, Ginny gave him a cold stare, much like she had been doing all week.

Harry shivered and said loudly, "It's freezing out there, isn't it?" whilst looking in Ginny's general direction. Harry smirked as she then blinked and looked away.

"Yes, Harry, I agree!" Mr Weasley called, hanging up his cloak. Adding sadly on the end, "But that's Dementors for you, isn't it?"

"Why don't we all go into the living room and have nice hot drinks?" Mrs Weasley said, bustling people into the rather small room.

Harry hadn't really noticed how many people there were on this trip to Diagon Ally until now. A lot more than he had thought anyway. It was very clever actually, as half the people he was seeing in his house were people he had seen just in the streets or wandering around shops alone fifteen minutes ago.

"Are you coming, Harry dear?" Mrs Weasley asked when he was the only one left in the hall.

"Oh, yeah, I'll be back in a minute," He answered, "I've got to put this in my room!" He signalled to the three bags and invisibility cloak he was holding and walked up the stairs.

Once in his room, he dropped them all on the floor and started emptying various presents into his trunk, as no one ever went in there. Soon, he stood back up and stuffed his cloak into his pocket of his trousers and took off his shirt, in order to find a warmer one on this cold day.

"You know," Harry jumped and almost called out when he heard Draco's voice in the doorway, "This Christmas is definitely shaping up to be my best ever." Harry caught his breath back as Draco smirked at him, moving his eyes greedily down Harry's naked torso.

"You made me jump!" Harry said.

"Oh, I am sorry," Draco said sarcastically, walking into the room and pushing the door shut behind him, "But it's true; this is my best ever Christmas. And it's funny; this time last year I never would have thought I'd be so excited to see Harry Potter without a top on. Especially on such a cold Christmas Eve."

Draco made a cute face and put his arms around Harry, which warmed him up quite nicely.

Harry smiled, "You'll get caught molestering me one of these days, Draco Malfoy."

"Do you honestly care? Because I certainly don't!" Draco said, starting to nibble on Harry's earlobe. "As long as I get you the way that I want you, I don't care who knows."

Harry's head twitched pleasantly as Draco continued to nibble and lick him.

"I'm beginning to feel the same, you know," He said, finding it difficult to keep his voice on one tone.

Draco stopped and raised an eyebrow at him. "How long has that taken me?" He asked rhetorically.

"Well, I think if you'd have done that to me earlier then we'd be a lot further along by now!" Harry laughed as Draco flopped down on his bed.

"You know, this is the longest time we've been alone without someone interrupting us for ages!" Draco said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, apart from you interrupting me," Harry said, "I was trying to hide Christmas presents!"

"Oh!" Draco exclaimed, "And what have you got me for Christmas?"

Harry laughed. "Nothing actually!"

"I beg your pardon?"

"You were close to me all day! I could hardly buy something with you there could I?"

"You were under an invisibility cloak!" Draco said disappointedly.

Harry couldn't help but laugh at Draco's attitude towards presents; it was just like a child's.

"Calm down, I have got you something!" He chortled.

"Oh, what is it?" Draco said happily.

"I'm not telling you!" Harry laughed. "But I have to give it to you at the manor."

Draco rolled his eyes and then seemed to do a double take of the last two seconds. And then his face spread to a smirk again and his normal tone came back into use.

"At the Manor?" He said sleekly. "I thought I wasn't allowed back there!"

"Well, we are for tomorrow," Harry answered, standing up from the bed.

"Alone?" Draco asked.

"Now," Harry said, putting on a jumper and walking towards the door, "That would ruin the surprise, wouldn't it?"

They smirked once more at each other, and Harry left the room.

* * *

"Harry!"

"Oi! Wake up you lazy git!"

Harry opened his eyes and yawned rubbing his face as he did so.

"You know how to ruin someone's dreams, don't you Ron?" He said sleepily as he took his glasses from Hermione and sat up.

"Merry Christmas, mate!" Ron laughed, handing over a small box wrapped in maroon paper.

"Thanks," Harry replied, bending over his bed and into his trunk to reach for Ron and Hermione's gifts. "Merry Christmas you two," He said, handing them over.

"Happy Christmas, Harry," Hermione smiled, giving him her present.

"Cheers," He replied awkwardly as he opened Ron's present.

It was a large box of assorted things from Fred and George's shop. "Thanks, Ron," Harry said appreciatively.

"I know it's not much," Ron said, "But those Decoy Detonators could come in useful some day soon, eh?" He laughed.

"It's great, thanks," Harry said again.

He turned to Hermione's present, which, surprisingly enough, turned out to be a book about Auror training, which was what Harry wanted to be once he had defeated Voldemort.

"Thanks Hermione!" He said.

"Well, you know, I thought you might actually read that one!" She laughed.

Harry nodded just as there was a knock on the door and Draco poked his head in.

"Hi, Draco," Harry said, waving for him to enter the room, "Happy Christmas."

"You too," Draco replied, handing over a small box in silver wrapping paper.

"Thanks," Harry said, going to open it.

"Don't open it now," Draco said hastily, "I just thought I'd give it to you."

He went to walk out of the room. Harry's face fell as he realised that Draco probably felt excluded from the trio's festivities, but he had a sudden inspiration run through him, and decided that now was the time to do it – otherwise he probably never would.

"Draco, wait here a second," He called quickly. Draco turned back around with a puzzled look on his face. Harry then faced Ron and Hermione, took a deep breath and started, "I've wanted to tell you two something for a while now, and err, well I feel like you can't get angry with me on Christmas day, so err, I'll tell you now…"

"Ok…" Hermione nodded, looking confused but smiling all the same.

"Right well, err…" Harry stuttered. Maybe this wasn't a good time to tell them, since he had used to date Ron's little sister… "I, erm… Ok listen; the thing is I'm in love with Draco."

He felt his face flush bright red, and instantly regretted what he did. He couldn't bear to look anyone in the eye, especially not Draco – he may have been angry about Harry telling people? After all, Malfoy's were not supposed to be in love with other men…

"Thank you for telling us," Hermione said finally, after what seemed like hours of silence.

Harry looked up at her slowly – she was smiling.

"You're not mad?" He asked quietly.

To his surprise, Ron answered, "Why would we be mad?"

"Well, I was supposed to be marrying your sister, Ron," Harry reminded him.

"Yeah, but I know that's not why you finished her, and I'm sure that you never would have cheated on her, mate," Ron smiled.

Harry felt like a weight was slowly lifting from his chest and throat, which seemed to have closed up. He smiled weakly.

"And to be honest, Harry," Hermione said, still smiling widely, "It was obvious."

"What do you mean?" Harry said, gob-smacked.

Hermione laughed a little, "Well, when Draco sat in your room for hours on end after you fainted on the stairs, and when I've walked into rooms and your faces have been bright red, and that day I came over after you went to Diagon Ally when you were fighting, it was obvious you weren't fighting about normal stuff, otherwise you probably would have been cursing each other."

Harry stared at her, wide-eyed.

"I'm just glad you've finally told us!" She laughed again.

They all smiled at each other for a moment, and Harry finally looked at Draco.

Draco beamed at him. Harry supposed that he was delighted that the first time he had ever said he was in love with Draco was in front of his two best friends. It showed that he didn't care what they thought.

"Anyway mate," Ron said, breaking the silence, "You'd better come down soon, no doubt mum will want to give you your new jumper. I bet Draco's got one this year too!" He laughed and walked out of the room with Hermione in toe, leaving Draco standing alone at the end of Harry's bed.

"Jumper?" Draco said once they'd gone.

Harry chuckled, "Yeah, Mrs Weasley makes us all jumpers for Christmas, and I doubt she'll stop just because we're not in Hogwarts anymore!"

Draco smiled and sat on the edge of the bed.

"I love you too, by the way," He said quietly.

Harry smiled and moved closer to him, "I know," He said. "I'm sorry it took me so long to say it."

"That's ok, I know you mean it now," Draco replied, taking his hand softly. "You can open your present now," He added, nodding his head in the direction of the little silver wrapped box.

Harry smiled and picked it up, taking off the wrapping paper carelessly. He then held a maroon box covered in velvet sort of material. He opened it, feeling rather like a girl, and saw a silver and green chain with a bar in the middle. The outline of the bar was framed with emerald jewels, and in the middle of them was engraved the word _'Mine'_.

Harry smiled and cocked his head slightly as he looked at Draco. "Your's, or mine?" He asked.

"You are mine, Potter," Draco smirked.

Harry laughed, "Glad to be."

"That will always remind you, in case the Weaselette gets her filthy claws on you again," Draco said.

"Thank you," Harry laughed again. "Why's it got green jewels, though?"

Draco smirked again, "You always would have done better in Slytherin. Besides, it goes with your fabulous eyes."

Harry smiled and leant across to kiss him. Their tongues lapped each other for a few minutes before Harry pulled away to get out of bed. From the corner of his eye, he saw Draco shudder at the sight of him with only boxers on.

"When do I get my present then?" He asked almost greedily as Harry pulled some clothes out of the wardrobe.

"After dinner," Harry answered, waving the question aside with his hand.

"Is it something to look forward to?" He asked.

"Of course, what would a present be if you didn't look forward to it?" Harry replied. He didn't give Draco time to answer as he put his new chain on around his neck, "Come on, we better get downstairs before Mrs Weasley sends out a search party."

"You know what Ron and Hermione are going to think we're doing, don't you?" Draco smirked.

Harry smirked back and walked out of the door, "Only exchanging presents."

* * *

Four hours later, after lots of present opening, magical cracker's pulling, and Christmas Pudding eating; Harry, Draco, the Weasley family, Hermione, Lupin and Tonks all sat in the living room listening to Mrs Weasley's favourite female singer on the radio. Of course, just as the two years previously, not everyone was listening; in fact, no one was.

Mrs Weasley was crying of course, Mr Weasley, Fred, George, Ginny and Tonks were all sitting in one corner of the room laughing at Tonk's ability to change the shape of her face, and Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco and Lupin were all huddled in another corner, whispering feverishly about 'top secret' Order work. Harry was getting numerous bad looks from Hermione as he took advantage of Lupin's slightly jollier state of mind, but he wanted Draco to know what was going on, so this was his chance to let him find out without feeling guilty about just telling him behind the Order's back.

"Yes," Remus carried on after a hiccup, "So next week it's all happening!"

"But will you explain a bit more about what Fred and George are doing?" Harry asked quietly, receiving another glare from Hermione.

"Harry," Hermione cut in sternly, "He's said enough; Draco knows what's happening as well as you and I do: Fred and George are searching for Voldemort next week, checking if he's in the same place as he was when we rescued Draco, end of story."

"Hermione…" Harry moaned.

"Harry," Draco cut in, "Just leave it."

Harry looked at him and could tell by his face that he, too, was getting irritable – and Harry could bet any money that it wasn't because he was taking advantage of Lupin's drunkenness.

"Did you want to go?" He asked quietly as Hermione and Ron started to laugh at Lupin who was now trying to lick the empty glass he had in his hand.

"I've wanted to go all day," Draco snapped back a bit.

"Ok, calm down!" Harry said, "I just don't know how to get out of here!"

Draco rolled his eyes. "They know now; just tell them you want to give me my present!"

Harry sighed loudly and Hermione turned to look at him.

"Is everything ok?" She asked.

"Yeah, we're just going to go out for a bit," Harry said, standing up slowly – as though the slower he went the less people would look at him.

"Go out? It's Christmas day!" She laughed.

"We need to talk about something," Harry dismissed quickly, feeling blood start to run to his face, "We'll be back later."

And before Hermione could say another word, Harry grabbed Draco's arm and pulled him from quickly from the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

He turned to look at Draco to see a raised eyebrow, which meant he was going to be made fun of.

"I didn't realise you were so keen, Harry," He smirked.

"I've been keen for longer than you realise," Harry smirked back.

"Is that a threat?" Draco asked sarcastically, walking closer to him and running his hand into Harry's hair.

"You wish."

Harry took Draco's hand from where it rested at the base of his neck, and twirled on the spot, taking the blond with him, clicking his fingers as he did so. They suddenly landed on the floor in a very large, quite dark, green bedroom. Anyone who stepped foot in here could tell that it hadn't been inhabited in months and that it had been searched over a dozen times. Harry looked at Draco's face and felt quite sorry for him – this was the only place Draco had ever known apart from Hogwarts, and it had always been so clean and tidy.

"Draco…" Harry said, feeling a tad guilty. But before he could get any further, Draco grabbed him and whispered in his ear, "I don't care right now, to be honest. I've waited _four_ months for this…"

"You've been counting?" Harry chortled.

"Only as much as you have."

Harry was dutifully silenced as Draco's lips hit his harder than they ever had before. Harry pushed back with just as much passion and desire as Draco's hands lifted his t-shirt.

It entered Harry's mind that right about now in other circumstances, Hermione would probably walk into the room; but not here. Harry didn't care about the danger of this location, his openness to be caught and killed; all he cared about was Draco, who was pulling him around the room. Of course, this was his room, so he knew where he was going even with his eyes shut.

Harry followed obediently as their tongue's lashed around each other mouths, and Harry was fully aware of his rock solid and completely up-right cock in his trousers.

The kiss broke for only a second as Draco pulled Harry's top off, and Harry shivered and twitched slightly as Draco's cold hands rushed over his body. Then, the kiss broke for one more second as Harry stripped Draco of his shirt; and he really did feel Draco shaking this time.

Finally, they collapsed in a heap on the large bed; legs intertwined and fingers in hair. Oh, Draco's hands were in Harry's hair, stroking it surprisingly softly since it was so knotted and the situation was all so intense.

Suddenly, Harry got a cold sensation on his legs and realised that his trousers had been removed by magic. He cursed himself quietly as he realised he had never learnt that spell, but it didn't matter, Draco was apparently quite happy to use it on himself as well. He endeavoured that later he would find out just what spell it was that Draco had used.

And then everything stopped. Harry licked his lips that astonishingly felt quite dry and chapped as they both lay completely tangled together there on the bed. Their breathing was slightly faster than usual, but it hadn't reached the point of panting – yet.

"You haven't done this before, have you?" Draco asked quietly.

Harry shook his head. At least, he assumed Draco meant done this with a _man_ before. "Have you?" He had to ask.

"No, we're not gay, remember?" Draco smirked.

"Oh yeah…" Harry said absent-mindedly as he rolled them both over.

He took hold of Draco's wrists and pushed them up, so that Draco was on his back with his arms above his head. Draco pulled his left arm back however, so that it was out of Harry's sight, turning his face slightly away at the same time.

"What?" He asked quietly. Draco said nothing, and Harry realised what it was about. He smiled. "I don't care about that anymore," He said, lifting the arm again to look at Draco's Dark Mark. "It's actually quite hot."

"Pardon?" Draco scoffed, looking incredulous, "It's disgusting."

"Which makes it all the more amazing," Harry said. At Draco's confused look, he went on. "To think that you were branded for life by something so evil, and to be able to come through it and survive to fight on our side now... it's amazing."

Draco began to smile slightly in the dark, "I sometimes wish I could just suck blood from your scar and have it run through my veins to that thing on my arm."

Harry laughed and a strange thought occurred to him. "It's never actually bled, you know."

Draco laughed too and then smirked again. "We're getting off subject."

Harry grinned and took Draco's left arm back up to above his head. He bent his head down from where he hovered on top of him and kissed Draco once again. Then, he whispered quietly, "Use that spell one more time."

Harry saw Draco's wand hand twitch and felt the elastic of his boxers disappear from around his waste, along with all the other material, and then saw Draco drop his wand. He felt the sudden skin on skin contact with his soon to be lover and gasped in pleasant shock. Draco tried to lift his arms but Harry was far too strong for him. He then took both of Draco's hands in one of his, and moved the other down to Draco's length. He smirked once more as Draco obviously had to work hard not to make noises and whimpers then and there as Harry put his hand on it, working it slowly up and down.

Draco twitched uncontrollably as Harry held him down and worked faster and faster. Soon, however, he had to let go of Draco's hands, but Draco didn't bother to move them from where Harry had left them. He knelt up, knees on either side of Draco's legs, and moved his now free hand down – further down than his other one.

With one swift movement, he pushed one finger up and Draco moaned pleasurably. Harry smirked with his eyes shut as he pushed a second finger into Draco's body – the moan got slightly louder.

Two fingers later, with his other hand still stroking Draco's length slowly, Draco's moans were louder and stronger until he finally said breathlessly, "Now…"

Harry knew what he meant, despite never having done this to a man before. He raised Draco a little bit higher and closer to him, before he took a quietly deep breath and pushed himself inside his lover.

Draco arched his back quickly and let out the loudest moan yet, whilst Harry did almost the same thing. The tightness of his lover was so new and astounding, it was unbelievable, and yet it felt so good.

He thrust slowly into Draco at first, his hand mimicking his thrusts on Draco's long, hot cock; but before long he became faster, and everything in his mind was a complete pleasurable blur in the land of purgatory, neither here nor there, apart from Draco's moaning and orgasmic calls. "Harry! Ah… AH!" And all Harry could think about was Draco. The smell of Draco, the feel of Draco, the _sound_ of Draco.

Sweat dripped from Harry's face onto his lover's pale skin, but it seemed that neither of them really noticed.

And then Harry felt it. They reached the point at exactly the same time, and Harry's cock pulsed faster than ever inside of Draco, he felt Draco tighten even more about him, and then Draco's member did the same thing in his hand, squirting out jets of white-silver liquid – more than Harry knew was possible.

They called out at the same time loudly, and Harry collapsed upon his lover, slipping out and rolling to the side on the bed next to Draco.

They both laid there for minutes on end, panting quickly in time with each other, catching their breath and enjoying the afterglow.

After many minutes, Harry's eyes were closed and he felt like he was falling asleep, he was so relaxed, but a hand took hold of his.

He opened his eyes and looked across to Draco, who was wearing an expression Harry couldn't read at all. Something he'd never ever seen on Draco's face.

"Are you ok?" Draco asked quietly.

Harry smiled weakly and answered, "I'm fantastic. You?"

"Hot," Draco smiled back. "And I have to say, that was the best Christmas present I've ever received."

Harry smiled more fully this time, "Same here."

"That wasn't your present!"

"Oh yeah…" Harry laughed. "But listen, there's one more thing I do want from you."

"Oh? What's that?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's nothing like that," Harry replied, "It's serious. I want you to promise me you'll always be safe. For me."

Draco cocked his head to the side for a moment and then replied, "Ok." Harry smiled with contentment and there was a short pause in which he almost fell asleep again, but then Draco stirred him by whispering, "I love you."

Harry smiled and opened his eyes again, "I…"

He stopped. He had heard a noise.

Draco had obviously heard it too, as he had sat up a little.

Then, suddenly, there was s crash from below and Harry and Draco jumped into action. Draco grabbed his wand and put the clothes back on Harry – no matter how much he would have liked to have washed first, but there wasn't time. The next second, Harry heard another smash, sounding closer than the first, and he looked to see Draco already back in clothing. He began to walk speedily round to Draco at the other side of the bed to disapparate back to Grimmauld Place, but less than a second later, the door the bedroom flew open and Harry's mind was fuzzed with a flash of red light, and his wand flew from his hand.

And then he was on the floor, screaming in pain. Stop! It had to stop!

And it did, just as quickly as it had started.

"We'll make this one simple, Potter," A voice said, "Come with us without trying to fight us and your lover will be spared." The voice seemed to spit the word 'lover' as he walked closer to him.

Harry looked around wildly on the floor, now panting from a completely different sensation – the aftermath of the Cruciatus curse. He heard a loud mumbling sort of sound and turned around to see Draco bound and gagged, shaking his head wildly at him.

Harry shook his head back without a second thought and turned back around to the Death Eaters.

"Come quietly, is that what you want me to do?" He said, not waiting for an answer. "Well, no!"

"Fine, Potter," The Death Eater said in a bored voice. He raised his wand, somewhat slowly, and pointed it at Draco. "Avada…"

But, somehow, Harry had no idea how it was possible, he summoned his wand quickly and pointed it in the middle of Draco and the Death Eater. A spilt second before the last work came from the Death Eater's mouth, Harry yelled, "Protego!"

The stream of green light bounced off the invisible shield and back to the Death Eaters. They all jumped aside and watched the light zoom around as Harry sprinted over to Draco and grabbed his wrist. He found it quite humorous how he actually had time to stop and release Draco from his binds before they disapparated. Voldemort would run riot when he found out what was happening here.

"It gets easier every time," Harry said loudly to Draco, who was laughing.

He saw the leader of the Death Eaters turn around and shout 'No!' before Harry clicked his fingers and they were sucked through the air tight tube of near suffocation.

* * *

**A/N** Heyaloo!!! Hope you liked the mega mega long chapter!! I tried to cut it down a bit, and then thought of splitting it into two chapters, but I like it this way. The bit with Death Eaters at the end will be 'explained' more fully in the next chapter – like how they knew Harry and Draco were there. I hope I did the ahem sex ok, I've been building up to that for 22 chapter's lol! I'd like to that Gorgeousbowneyesslash (aka my awesome friend!) for beta reading that section for me. Thank you hun!

Erm, anything else I wanted to say??? Oh yeah, I know it seems like I as an author always take the easy way out for Harry in situations like that with the Death Eaters; but this time in particular (as I tried to write in it) I wanted to portray how rubbish Voldie's death eaters are. Everything is going down for Voldemort perhaps?!?!?! You'll have to read the last chapter (which will also be really long) to find out!!


	24. Changing Lies

**A/N** Thanks to reviewers:

**Random-laughter: **I'm sorry it's finishing!! But don't worry, there's always the sequel to look forward to hehe!!! And yeah, I couldn't really finish it without them having done anything like that, could I?!

**Fufu.a.k.a.speechless: **I'm glad they know too, cos I wrote it hehe! Yeah, I thought Christmas was a good time for them to do it!

**LoveYouLoveMe: **Hehe, glad I did the scene ok! It's good like that isn't it!

**MagicalWinry: **ok! Lol!

**HarryPotter's-angel: **Omg! How could I make such a rubbish mistake!!! Oh wells… I'm really sorry, and of course they got away, but only because of my mistake!! Poo… Glad you liked it anyway. Thanks for reviewing!

Changing Lies

Harry and Draco landed with a thump on the floor in the dusty Grimmauld Place. Draco began to snigger as he stood up, wiping himself off, but Harry stayed on the floor, everything seeming to fall into place in his head.

"Oh," Hermione was at the door to the living room. She turned and called back into the room, "It's ok, it's only Harry and Draco," She turned back to face Draco, "What's so funny? Where've you been?"

"We were at the Manor," Draco said airily, "We just escaped Death Eaters again."

"What?" She said incredulously, walking closer to him. She didn't seem to notice Harry on the floor until she tripped over his leg. "Oh, Harry! Are you ok?" She asked.

Harry was staring intently at the floor; his scar was beginning to burn again. He guessed the Death Eaters had just told Voldemort the 'bad' news.

"Yeah," He replied absent-mindedly, standing up, "I need to have a shower…"

Harry started towards the stairs, but Draco took hold of his arm. "Are you ok?"

"I just said yes!" Harry snapped. Draco let go of his arm immediately. "I want to be alone; leave me for one moment, please!"

As he stalked off up the stairs, he heard Hermione whisper below him, "He never says 'moment'; I think it's probably just Voldemort again. Leave him be."

Harry sped into the bathroom on the first floor and slammed the door behind him. He shook his head, it wasn't Voldemort this time. He was completely confused, and yet thoughts that he knew were correct were spinning around his brain.

The Death Eaters had known Harry would be at Malfoy Manor that day; all because of a stupid dream he had the night before. He remembered waking up and saying to Ron, 'you know how to ruin someone's dreams,'. He had been dreaming about Draco and himself in the Manor – Voldemort must have seen it.

But then, as Harry stepped into the steaming shower, another thought occurred to him. Draco had almost been killed: again. And yet again, it was Harry's fault. It was always Harry's fault. If Draco wasn't in love with him, Harry was totally sure that he wouldn't have had three near death experiences.

And it was obvious that Draco was getting used to them as well. The first time they had been caught out outside the Manor, Draco was white as a sheet and terrified when they returned to Grimmauld Place; the second time, after Harry, Ron and Hermione rescued him, well, Harry wouldn't know what he had been like, but he expected tougher than that. And now – now he was laughing about almost being killed! No one should get used to near death experiences, no matter how many you have…

It had to stop.

Harry stepped out of the shower and conjured a towel to dry himself with, telling himself that he had to talk to Draco and make him see sense, before it was too late.

* * *

Harry lay awake in his bed, feeling rather lonely. Lying next to Draco in bed six hours previously had been amazing. Feeling his warm, steadily moving body against his as he tried to fall asleep. It was like they had been doing it for months; lying with each other, completely content with the other's company and steady breathing. 

Harry sighed. He couldn't possibly be thinking things like these right now, after he had made such a difficult decision earlier. Of course, five hours ago Draco was back in the living room with everyone else, and Harry couldn't take him away to talk to him. He got frustrated and decided it was easier to go to bed, and tell him tomorrow. But an hour later he still wasn't asleep, and why? Because thoughts of his beautiful new lover kept interrupting him.

He jumped as the door to his bedroom suddenly opened and he saw the silhouette of who he thought was Draco entering the room.

Harry stayed silent for as long as it took for Draco to join him in his bed, cuddling up closely, so close that Harry felt the air streaming out of Draco's nose.

A hand came from no where and placed itself on Harry's chest, which jolted at the sudden touch.

"You're awake?" Draco whispered. "Did I wake you?"

"No," Harry replied quietly, "I can't sleep. I was missing you." He rolled his eyes after saying this, it just made the situation more difficult.

"Same here," Draco said, "I'm beginning to think I'm obsessed with you."

He nuzzled his head into Harry's neck, but Harry pulled away.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked.

"I… We need to talk," Harry said with difficulty.

"Ok…" Draco replied worriedly.

Harry took a deep breath in and started to talk, slowly at first, but he felt as thought he got faster as he went on: "You shouldn't… You remember that promise you made to me today? About keeping safe for me? Well, I want you to keep that promise, and being with me isn't going to make that easy for you."

"What do you mean?" Draco asked.

Harry sighed quickly and suddenly jumped out of the bed.

"I don't want to be with you," He said quickly.

Pause. Harry shook as he waited for a reply in the freezing air outside of his bed covers.

"I beg your pardon?" Draco finally whispered.

"I said, I don't want to be with you; it's not safe," Harry repeated.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Draco retorted.

"I'm not, I'm being totally serious," Harry said truthfully. "Look, you almost died today, for the third time since we've been friends, I won't let it happen again. You need to keep away from me, Draco, well away…"

"Harry, calm down," Draco said, "As long as I've got you to look after me, then what does it matter?"

"I…" Harry had no idea how to get out of that one. It was true; no matter where Draco was, Harry knew that if he was in danger he'd go and help. But the point was, he didn't want to have to help, because he didn't want Draco to _ever_ be in danger. But how could he make Draco see that now without lying?

And then it hit him. As he stood in the cold, dusty room, he made another decision. He was to lie to Draco. Be cruel to be kind, as people often said.

"Harry?" Draco prompted after a moment's thought on Harry's part.

"I don't want to have to look after you, Draco," He said coldly.

"What?"

"It would… be a burden, for me…" Harry lied through his teeth, and every word cut him like a knife.

"What are you talking about?" Draco said; Harry could hear the faked smile in his words.

"I don't want to be worrying about you all the time," Harry continued.

"But… That's what lovers do… worry about each other…" Draco stuttered.

"You're not…" Harry blinked and numerous amounts of silent tears fell from his eyes, "You're not my lover," He said more strongly.

Another silence followed his harsh lie, and Harry guessed that Draco, too, was crying.

"Harry…" He whispered, "I know you're lying…" Although he sounded uncertain, "Today… we made love, Harry…"

"No we didn't," Harry cut in, trying with great force to keep his voice steady, ignoring the huge lump that had formed in his throat.

"But…"

"But nothing, Draco," Harry interrupted again. "You need to get away from me, for your own safety. And, to be honest," He spat out the next heartless lie that dripped from his lips, "Did we ever really love each other? Or did we just happen to live in the same place when we were both lonely?"

Harry jumped as a steak of light flooded the room, but he then saw that it was only Draco, who had walked to the door to evidently leave. He was shocked to see Draco's face only slightly pinker than usual from a minimal amount of tears – whereas he was sure that he, himself, was completely red-faced.

"I'm not going to cry over you, Potter," Draco said quietly. Harry was stunned by the use of his last name in an un-malicious way. "Because I know what you're doing. You're lying to me to make me think that you hate me, so I'll leave and be safe. But it's not going to work…"

"They're not lies," Harry lied again.

He saw Draco's face falter into a grimace as he walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.

Harry's eyes lost focus in the pitch blackness before he walked back to his bed. It was still warm from where Draco had just laid in it. Harry laid on top of that warm half and shuddered, tears streaming down his face. He had no idea how much Draco had believed, or not believed as the case may be; nor did he have any idea where those lies had sprouted from. One crazy idea spun with another – all for Draco's well-being – until he had almost convinced himself of the lie: until he almost convinced himself that he didn't love Draco with all of his heart and soul.

It was strange – he had never even felt this way about Ginny, the woman he had once set out to marry. And now that he had discovered those feelings for someone, he found that he pushed them as far away as he possibly could.

* * *

Draco opened his eyes the morning after his 'argument' with Harry. Well, you couldn't really call it an argument, as Draco didn't fight back at all. 

His eyes were still blotchy from the night before, after returning to his room, and he felt weaker then he had since being held for a month by Death Eaters and the Dark Lord. For Draco had left Harry's room last night, and cried for hours. He still didn't know if what Harry had said was truth or not, but it hurt nonetheless.

This morning however, Draco planned on going downstairs and acting as if nothing had happened, apart from the most amazing sexual experience of his life yesterday. And if Harry continued to go on about his stupid theory that he never loved Draco, (Draco cringed to even think it) then Draco would have to make him see otherwise.

Draco stretched and got out of his bed – which he wished he shared with Harry – and walked towards the door to the hall, to go and have a shower.

Half an hour later, he returned, clean and ready for whatever challenges the day – or Harry – thought to bring him.

Draco went downstairs.

He heard voices in the living room which sounded like Harry, Ron and Hermione. Draco didn't let it bother him; it was acceptable to talk to his friends of course.

"Of course, Harry, but…"

However, when he opened the door, he was bothered.

Hermione, who had been in mid-sentence, stopped talking and stared at Harry, who stared at Draco; eyes wide and almost fearful. Should Draco's eyes be shaped the same way?

* * *

Harry stared at Draco as he walked slowly into the room, glancing at Harry, Ron and Hermione each in turn before he said croakily, "Morning." 

"Good morning, Draco," Hermione said, making a bad effort to cover up the sticky atmosphere. "Your voice doesn't sound too good. Is everything alright?"

Draco nodded, "I just didn't get a very good sleep, that's all," He replied, looking pointedly at Harry, who tried his best to not look away. "Don't let me interrupt you, please," He said.

Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but Harry cut in before her, "You weren't interrupting."

Draco raised an eyebrow, "Then why did Hermione stop talking as I entered the room?"

"Because she think's I've made the wrong decision," Harry replied steadily.

"The wrong decision about what, may I ask?"

Harry had only just realised the way that Draco was acting. It was like he was getting ready to have a complete shouting match at Harry, and Ron and Hermione were watching fearfully. But Harry wouldn't give in. He wanted Draco to be safe, and that's what he'd get.

"Harry…" Hermione tried to interrupt, but Harry held up a hand to silence her.

"We're leaving tomorrow."

Draco almost choked on his water he was now drinking. "What?" He mumbled.

"We're leaving tomorrow to finish off the Order's work," Harry said. "I know it's sudden, but I want Voldemort dead, in which case we have to find Nagini, his snake, and kill her too. It'll all take a long time; I can't say we'll be done before a matter of months us up."

"What's the real reason you're leaving?" Draco spat.

"Ron, come on…" Hermione muttered, standing up to leave.

"No, Hermione, its ok," Harry said, "I was just going to pack."

"Harry…" Draco said quietly.

"Don't follow me, Draco," He said, "I don't want you to."

And with that, Harry left the room quickly, feeling his face burn as he did so, and his vision getting blurry from watery eyes.

He sped into his bedroom and closed the door behind him, casting a locking charm on it. He fell to his knees on the floor of the small room and buried his head in his hands.

But he wouldn't cry. He just wouldn't do it.

Harry hated all the lies that had sprung up from nowhere in the past day, and he had no idea how he had come to make himself do this, but it was for the best. He wasn't going to lie to himself; he was in love with Draco, but that was the whole point. He couldn't stand by and have sex with him, while ten minutes later he could be in mortal danger. Too many people that he cared about had died through Harry. Of course, Harry had never killed them, but at the end of the day, if Harry wasn't around, those people would probably still be alive.

Harry took three deep breaths and jumped when there was a knock on the door, and the handle moved.

"Harry, can I come in please?"

Hermione. Harry rolled his eyes and stood up, wiping his face even though there were no tears to be seen.

He unlocked the door with a wave of his wand.

"Harry," Hermione said as she walked slowly into the room, closing the door behind her. "You need to sort this out. Whatever has happened with you and Draco, you need to fix it."

Harry looked at her. "Do you not want to come with me tomorrow then?" He asked.

"No, that's not it at all," Hermione replied, sitting down next to him on his bed, "You know Ron and I are coming no matter what. But I don't think you should leave Draco like this."

"Like what?"

"With the attitude you're giving each other. If you leave him still like that then he'll be so upset."

"And he'll forget about me," Harry said, "That's just what I want."

"What?"

Harry sighed and turned to face her. "Look, if he stays with me, he'll be killed before a month is up, and if I just leave, then he'll be pining for me all the time; I don't want that. I've told him I don't love him, and that I never did."

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, "But that's not true, surely?"

"Of course it's not," Harry scoffed slightly, "But if I leave with him knowing I love him, he'll be waiting for me to come back."

"But… you will come back…" Hermione said in a confused fashion.

Harry raised an eyebrow, "Will I? Who's to say I won't get killed in three days?"

"Harry, you mustn't think like that!"

He merely shrugged. "It's reality. Now, I need to pack for tomorrow, and you and Ron should be too. I'll see you later."

Hermione stood up and shook her head at him. "What you're doing is cruel. You're going to break Draco's heart."

"I already have," Harry corrected her, "And if you say a single word to him about this…"

"I won't! I'm just saying…"

"Well don't; go and pack," Harry dismissed her and turned around to start packing his things. He made himself look busy until he heard Hermione sigh and leave the room.

He then also sighed and flopped down on his bed. Never mind breaking Draco's heart… his was hurting just as much.

* * *

"Come on mate, hurry up!" Ron shouted at him the next day. 

"Calm down, I just need to go and get my bag," Harry said calmly, walking towards the stairs. "You're as bad as Hermione!"

Ron's ears turned pink and Harry chuckled as he ran up the stairs. The rest of the previous day had been spent in his room, away from Ron, Hermione and Draco, for he couldn't stand to be with anyone. After Hermione had left his room, Harry had initially gone downstairs to talk to everyone for one last time, but when Remus started to 'argue against' their leaving, he got fed up and retreated back to his bedroom.

So far today, Harry had neither seen nor heard anything of Draco; which was probably a good thing. He was afraid that if he had to see him, he might decide to stay – therefore putting Draco in danger.

Harry opened the door to his bedroom a jumped almost a mile form his own skin.

Draco was sitting on his bed, holding one strap of Harry's bag in his hand. He was leant back in a vulnerable position; his head tipped backwards looking at the ceiling. He looked amazing.

Harry blinked.

"What are you doing?" He asked quietly.

"I'm saying goodbye," Draco answered strongly, sitting properly to look at him.

Harry breathed quickly and felt a strange lump in his chest and throat.

"Am I not allowed to say goodbye if you're really leaving?" Draco asked airily, standing up.

"Yes…" Harry answered, swallowing.

"Good, because there's more that I wanted to say actually," Draco pressed on, walking around the room.

Harry's eyes followed Draco's pale figure as he shut the door behind him. It was horrible to think that he'd never see that beautiful creature again.

"I know why you're leaving," Draco said, "And I've decided to accept it and believe the _real_ truth. Because of course, I know you're lying as well." Draco paused and Harry merely blinked in response. "I mean, I'll see you again once the war is over. But can I just say, if you're worried about me getting hurt, why aren't you worried about Ron and Hermione?"

Harry swallowed again and found it quite difficult to answer. "Because I remembered something you said when I first moved to the manor. You said that you didn't know how to defend yourself. Ron and Hermione do, so they're ok."

"Fair point," Draco said, looking at his feet.

There was an awkward silence in the room, and Harry didn't know how to fill it. He had gone along with Draco until this point, and now he couldn't decide whether to drop all of his lies and kiss him, or continue with the lies and tell him to go away.

"Can I ask you one thing before you go?" Draco said quietly after a moment. Harry nodded jerkily. "When you said… Did we really love each other… Did you mean it?"

Harry stared unblinkingly at him, face sombre, eyes set. He didn't know what he was trying to do, but when Draco replied, he felt like he had done the right thing.

"I see," Draco said. "Then there's nothing left but for you to go, is there?" Harry shook his head. "Can I live here while you're gone?"

Harry nodded, and then decided now was the time to speak up.

"Draco," He said, his voice hoarse, "You know there's a strong possibility that I won't ever get back here?"

Draco glanced at the floor and then straight back at Harry. He nodded his head slowly and began to walk towards him, with his rucksack still in his hand.

"Please remember, Harry," He whispered, putting the rucksack down and placing his hand on Harry's back, making him shiver, "That even if you never loved me, I love you so much."

And then he did it – he bloody well did it. Draco stood up as high as he could and touched his soft lips on Harry's.

Harry's eyes fluttered shut and his hands moved quickly – though seemingly in slow motion – to Draco's back, which jolted slightly at the touch. And then feeling seemed to flow back into Harry; feeling which he hadn't had for three days. Emotion poured in on him so quickly that it overwhelmed him, and tears built up behind his eyelids, which opened for a second to let the tears flow.

Draco must have felt Harry's tears fall onto his cheeks, for that very second, he opened his mouth wider and let Harry's tongue slip into it. Each of their hands wandered every inch of the others' body, until Harry's finally decided to rest at the bottom of Draco's shirt, and start to lift it.

Draco seemed to kiss him harder then, and his feet carried Harry away from the spot on which he had been standing since he entered the room. Soon, Harry felt the bed on the back of his legs and was just about to pull Draco down with him when he heard the door open.

"Harry you're…"

The door slammed shut again before Harry had even seen Ron in the room. A sudden urge to grin passed over him, and when he saw Draco's top lifted half off, and the expression on Draco's face, he couldn't help but let the grin slid on his.

But then, Harry pulled Draco's shirt back down, and he felt positively sick as he walked away from him, back to his rucksack.

"Harry…" Draco whispered.

"I have to go," Harry cut in, not looking at him.

As Harry opened the door, he saw there was no sign of Ron. He suppressed his half-hearted smile this time, however, as he turned back to Draco, who had tears running slowly down his cheeks.

Harry could think of nothing to say. He didn't want to lie anymore, but equally as much, he didn't want to tell the truth either. There were only two bizarre things running around his head, and he had no idea where they had come from.

"Promise me you'll be safe, and I'll kill him for you," He whispered.

Draco nodded fiercely and choked, "Do you love me, or not?"

"It doesn't matter now," Harry said quickly and truthfully. Because, in his opinion, he would die during the next few months, and it never would have mattered.

Harry then took Draco's right hand in his left and squeezed it tightly one last time before he turned to leave.

He walked down the short corridor quickly, and down the stairs even faster until he reached Ron, Hermione, Fred, George and Mr and Mrs Weasley. He noticed that Ron was slightly white-faced, but Hermione had obviously told him off for being 'pathetic', as she would have called it.

"Harry, dear!" Mrs Weasley said loudly, giving him a hug.

Harry hugged back and made a false attempt at a laugh, "I'm not very good with goodbyes, Mrs Weasley," He said.

"Well who is dear?" She cried. "Do be safe. Look after those two!"

Harry nodded, "I will."

"Goodbye, Harry," Mr Weasley said, shaking his hand firmly, adding at the end, "I know you can do it."

The twins then waved, and Ron and Hermione turned to the door. Harry guessed that they must have said their goodbyes in his absence.

"Where're Remus and Ginny?" Harry asked before turning around.

"They're with Tonks, dear," Mrs Weasley answered, "They… They told us they didn't want to watch you leave."

Harry made a confused expression, to which Mrs Weasley nodded her head, before Hermione turned to him and said, "Harry, we should go."

Harry nodded back at her distractedly and looked around his house. This may well be the last time he'd ever see it.

As he looked up the stairs, he jolted slightly when his eyes stopped on the figure of a person standing in the shadows at the top. The white-blonde hair was the first thing to capture him, and his heart pounded like a drum as he realised how much he didn't want to leave him, ever. Then, Draco stepped out from the shadow and Harry saw his lips move.

'I love you.'

Harry stared at the lips. Those gorgeous, red lips. What was he doing? Why was he leaving?

"Harry," Hermione stirred him, and his eyes ripped away from Draco with great difficulty.

"You sure about this?" Ron said quietly.

Harry hesitated before answering quietly, "Yes…"

"You know you've always got us, Harry," Hermione said, taking hold of his hand.

Harry nodded and smiled a genuine smile. "Yeah, I know," He replied.

And with that, Ron held on to Hermione's arm, and they all disapparated away from Grimmauld Place; ready to destroy evil, save the world, and die trying.

* * *

**A/N** Well, that's it!!! Hope the last chapter was ok! I've edited a lot of it because I know how all over the place it was/is! I hope it's not too confusing. I mean, suddenly Harry's all like, 'I don't love you'! But hopefully you understand why and everything, so I'll stop flaming my own writing haha!! Anyways, don't all be sad because it's over (tehe) because I'm planning a sequel; yay!!!!!! It will probably be up next week sometime, so probably in like, seven days knowing me haha!!!! Anyway, I hope you all come and read it. Thank you for all being such lovely reviewers and favouriters!! See you all soon no doubt!!! Love you all!!!! 


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